Naruto: The Game of Life
by SeerKing
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto wakes up one day to find out that his life has been turned into a RPG game, thanks to his 'Gamer' ability. What should he do about this? Smart(er) Naruto. Elements of Romance Games included in later chapters, so possible upgrade to M later. NarutoxHarem.
1. Get Your Game On!

**Author's Note: I recently got in to reading The Gamer, as well as several Gamer/Naruto Fics, so I decided to have a go at writing one myself.**

**Just as with After The Chamber: Lords and Ladies, this is a secondary project, so updates will not be as frequent as my main stories.**

**Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either Naruto or The Gamer.**

"Sakura-chan!" - Regular Speech

'_Baka!_' - Thoughts

_:Shannaro!:_ - Inner Sakura

**[Quest Announcement]** - Gamer Ability/Notification

**Chapter 1: Get Your Game On!**

**Morning, Twelve Years After The Day of The Kyuubi**

**The Apartment of Uzumaki Naruto, Slum, Konohagakure no Sato**

"What. In. The. Living. HELL?!"

The loud voice echoed throughout the small apartment, making the odd cockroach skitter back into the many cracks in the walls. Within the bedroom, a small boy, one Uzumaki Naruto, lay on his bed facing the ceiling. His eyes were wide with disbelief and astonishment.

Why might you ask?

Floating about a foot and a half away from his face was a small horizontal blue rectangle that had a few words written on it.

**[You Have Slept on Your Run-Down Bed.**

**HP and CP Fully Restored.]**

Naruto blinked in half-asleep puzzlement at the notice. Hardly surprising, considering he had only just woken up. The orphaned boy stared at the odd box before slowly forming the Ram handsign.

"_**KAI! (Release!)**_" he commanded as he attempted to end the Genjutsu (Illusion Jutsu) that he was certain he was under. When the box didn't vanish, Naruto just shrugged. He had never once successfully dispelled a Genjutsu in his entire life, so he hadn't really expected it to work this time.

Deciding to just ignore the odd blue rectangle, Naruto sat up and stretched, yawning as he did so. He didn't have to go to the Konoha Shinobi Academy today, so he could get some training in without being jeered at by the Academy Sensei.

'_Except Iruka-sensei._' Naruto added to himself. Umino Iruka was the only teacher in Naruto's entire six-year long Academy career that didn't discriminate against Naruto in any way, shape or form, preferring to be scrupulously fair with the young blond boy.

Padding out into his hall, Naruto wrinkled his nose at the stench that was left over from the latest 'present' thrown through a broken window by an unknown person. A bag of rotting dog turds judging by the scent. _Lovely_.

With a sigh, the boy walked to the kitchen and grabbed a clothes peg, a heavy-duty bin bag and plastic gloves from a drawer. Clamping the wooden peg over his nose, which was fairly sensitive to scents, Naruto then pulled on the gloves and got down to the dirty business of dealing with the source of the revolting odour.

For the twelfth time this month.

The citizens of Konoha uniformly despised Naruto for some odd and unknown (to him) reason. Well, the _civilians_ hated him. The various shinobi clans and Konoha Shinobi Forces members just ignored him, except for the Academy staff, who hated him. Except for Iruka-sensei.

Finished with his unpleasant and disgusting task, Naruto walked to the balcony of his apartment, which was on the top floor of the building and looked down. Ah good. The bin was open.

He carefully aimed for the bin and dropped the bag containing the turds. Naruto watched as the bag fell and landed inside the bin with a loud {squelch}.

"Seriously got to find a new place to live. This is stupid." Naruto muttered as he peeled off the gloves and threw them into the kitchen bin before stomping off to the bathroom for his daily 'curse-at-the-useless-pipes-that-don't-damn-well-work' time that most people had a shower during.

He had, on countless occasions, tried to get the Landlord to do something about this. The few times the fat bastard hadn't tossed him out of his office, he had instead been threatened with eviction if he didn't shut up and bugger off.

So, instead of a shower in the morning, Naruto generally bought a large bottle of drinking water from a nearby corner shop -at thrice the listed price- and poured it into a bowl, using soap instead of shampoo. It sucked by comparison to a proper hot shower, but needs must when demons drive.

Because of him smelling a bit ripe, it didn't actually surprise him that he had never successfully asked his crush, Haruno Sakura, out on a date. Naruto smiled a bit as he pictured his emerald-eyed, pink haired love interest. It never failed to cheer him up.

Sure, she punched him out whenever he asked her on a date, but she acknowledged that he was there, that he existed. She had a legitimate reason to dislike him, which he accepted. He admitted to himself that he could stand to tone down the frequency of his date requests, which he did whenever he saw her.

Most of the other kids in his year avoided him or tried to bully him, so he avoided them right back. The rest were either neutral towards him or slightly friendly with him. Sadly, the last group composed of all of the slackers.

Akimichi Choji, who would rather eat than study, Nara Shikamaru, the laziest bastard Naruto had ever met and Inuzuka Kiba, the guy who only stayed out of the position of 'Dead Last' because he could actually use the stupid _**Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Jutsu)**_, while Naruto couldn't.

Those three were friends -of a sort- that he hung out with occasionally when he ditched class, before they were dragged back by an irate Iruka.

Naruto yawned again as he walked into his bathroom, but froze as he passed the broken mirror that he had glued together from one a former neighbour had thrown out after his wife had thrown it at him when he came home drunk…again.

Visible in the cracked surface was his head, above which floated a handful of blue words.

**[The Gamer]**

**LV4 - Uzumaki Naruto**

After turning to fully view his reflection, Naruto hesitantly waved his hand through the words, half expecting them to dissipate like smoke.

Nope, they were still there. They just…hung there.

"OK, seriously starting to freak out here." he whispered.

Except…he wasn't, for some reason. He was surprised, yes, but panicking? Starting to gibber inanely? Nope.

He flinched a bit when another blue box appeared at the exact same distance the last one has appeared at. He peered at the title.

**[Quest Alert!]**

"What the hell is going on here?" he wondered aloud before continuing to read.

**Wash Down, Dress Up: You are going to head out for training soon. Get cleaned up and dressed in ten minutes!**

**Quest Completion Award: + 50 EXP**

**Quest Failure: +10 EXP**

**Accept?**

**[Y/N]**

Naruto stared at the rectangle with another bewildered expression. EXP? What the hell was _that_? And a time limit on how long it takes to get washed and dressed? What was with that?

"What the hell? Why not?" he said aloud as he cautiously pressed the 'Y' button, which he presumed stood for 'Yes'.

At once, a countdown timer appeared in the corner of his sight, seeming to float in midair, and began to count down from ten minutes. Naruto moved to the sink and turned the hot tap. Much to his delight, this was one day when the damn tap actually gushed water.

After a quick wash, Naruto dressed himself up in his cheap orange workman's jumpsuit. He liked the colour and how many pockets it had. Unfortunately, Sakura and her frenemy, Yamanaka Ino, despised it with a passion.

As soon as he finished pulling on his blue shinobi sandals, the timer stopped. Naruto noted that it had taken him a little under five minutes to get ready.

Another box popped up bearing another message.

**[Congratulations!]**

**Quest Complete!**

**Completion Reward: 50 EXP.**

**Bonus Award: Finished in less than five minutes: 20 EXP.**

OK, so he got an extra twenty EXP for finishing quickly? That was cool and everything, but he still had no clue what this 'EXP' thing was. Before he could do anything, the box vanished and another one appeared.

**[Quest Alert!]**

**Race to the Goal! - You are hoping to train using the Academy's Obstacle Course today. Iruka-sensei said he would meet you at ten to help you train, but you only have ten minutes to make it there now. Run like the wind and make it to the Academy's Training Field before you are late!**

**Quest Completion Award: +100 EXP, +100 Reputation with Umino Iruka.**

**Quest Failure: +50 EXP, -50 Reputation with Umino Iruka.**

**Accept?**

**[Y/N]**

OK, Naruto wasn't the sharpest tack in the box, but even _he_ knew what reputation was and he didn't want the only teacher that treated him decently to think less than him!

Quickly taping the 'Y' button, he zoomed out the front door and started to run at his top speed towards the Academy Training Field.

As he ran, he felt a shiver make its way up his spine as he felt the usual cold glares of the civilian populace, intermixed with what he recognised as very mild Killing Intent.

Another box popped up when Naruto was about halfway to the Academy.

**[Skill Created!]**

**As a result of constant endurance, you have created the Skill [Detect Bloodthirst]**

**[Detect Bloodthirst] (Passive) [Level 1, EXP 02.44]**

**Allows the user to detect any killing intent within a set distance. With increased levels, the exact location of the KI can be determined, as well as the name of the person emitting the KI.**

**Range: 30 Meters**

…So by having people send KI at him, he got a 'skill' to detect KI? Naruto still had no clue as to what was going on here, but this skill did seem like it would be useful.

Noticing that he had slowed down when the box popped up, Naruto started running again, ignoring the unrelenting pressure of the glares with the ease of long practice.

As the academy came into sight, Naruto noticed Iruka-sensei standing at the door talking with a silver-haired man that he recognised as Toji Mizuki, the assistant sensei of his class. He gaped for a moment when he noticed writing floating over both of their heads.

**[Hardworking Teacher]**

**LV 25 Umino Iruka**

**[?-?-?]**

**LV 26 Toji Mizuki**

OK, this was weird. Not only was there odd blue writing above his head, apparently, there was writing above other people's heads as well. He hadn't noticed this before now because he did his best to ignore the people who glared at him.

"Hey! Iruka-sensei!" he called cheerfully. The two chunin teachers turned around at his call. Naruto noted that Mizuki had to suppress a look of dislike upon seeing him. He had known that Mizuki was just like the majority of the Academy staff, but it still hurt slightly to know he was hated by one of his sensei.

"See you later Iruka." Mizuki said to his fellow teacher, "Drinks at five?"

"Sure." Iruka nodded, "See you at Aoiya's."

With a nod, the silver haired chunin vanished in a puff of smoke just as Naruto ran up to Iruka, a wide grin across his face.

"Sorry for the wait, Iruka-sensei." he said as he came to a halt.

"Wait? Hardly, Naruto. You're early." Iruka said, looking slightly impressed, "I had thought I would have to go looking for you like I do during class time."

"Oi!" Naruto protested indignantly, "I promised I'd be here, didn't I? I never break my word."

"True enough." Iruka chuckled, "Sorry for doubting you. Head over to the training field. I have to get something from my desk."

"You got it, Iruka-sensei." Naruto nodded before jogging off.

When he got to the field, he was not surprised to see another box pop up.

**[Congratulations!]**

**You arrived at the Academy Training Field on time!**

**Quest Completion Reward: + 100 EXP, + 100 Reputation with Umino Iruka.**

**Bonus Reward: Arrive three minutes or more early: + 30 EXP, + 20 Reputation with Umino Iruka**

So he had a hundred and twenty points higher Reputation with Iruka-sensei than he had had before. This was good, but as he didn't actually know how the whole reputation thing worked, he was a bit lost as to exactly what to do with this information.

He distracted himself by looking around the training field. There were several wooden posts for taijutsu practice, a shooting range for practicing Shurikenjutsu, as well as the obstacle course. Someone had left part of the seat of their trousers behind after a failed attempt at the course the previous day.

Naruto groaned when yet another box popped up. When was he going to get an explanation about what the heck was going on here?

**[Skill Created!]**

**As a result of diligent observation, the skill [Observation] has been created.**

**[Observation] (Passive/Active) [Level 1, 00.00 EXP]**

**A skill that allows the user to view information about people, animals and objects that this skill is directed upon. The higher this skills level is, the more information is gathered. Five CP per use.**

"Okaaaayyy." Naruto said slowly, "This is starting to sound like one of those RPG things that Choji liked to talk about last year."

Looking around, he saw a rusty kunai lying on the ground. Deciding it made a good test target, he stared at it for a moment, but nothing happened.

'_Jutsu have to be invoked verbally when you first learn them, according to Iruka-sensei anyway, so maybe I have to say it's name aloud as well?_' Naruto theorised to himself, growling when yet another window popped up.

**By thinking in a logical and concise manner, your WIS went up by one.**

A tick mark appeared on Naruto's head at this. Whoever was doing this was decidedly pissing him off.

"{Observe}" he said softly as he stared at the Kunai on the ground, prompting another small window to appear, replacing the other one.

**Rusty Kunai**

**A kunai that was left outside for an extended period of time, it is now rusted and blunt.**

That was all the information that it had. Naruto frowned before directing his attention at the training posts for Taijutsu and said, "{Observe}"

**Wooden Training Post**

**A wooden pillar of wood intended for use as a target for Taijutsu, striking this pillar gives you 5% [?] EXP for every five minutes you spend punching it.**

OK, that was weird. It give you five percent what EXP? Naruto sighed as there was only one way to find out. He walked over to the post and started punching it. After five minutes, another box appeared.

**[Skill Created!]**

**Through diligent training, the skill [Taijutsu Conditioning] has been created.**

**[Taijutsu Conditioning] (Passive) [Level 1, 05.00 EXP]**

**By conditioning your body to become tougher, your effectiveness when performing any Taijutsu style increases.**

**Passively increases effectiveness of any Taijutsu style by 1%.**

Naruto just stared at the box before swiping at it with one hand, banishing it, before using {Observe} on the pillar again.

**Wooden Training Post**

**A wooden pillar of wood intended for use as a target for Taijutsu, striking this pillar gives you 5% [Taijutsu Conditioning] EXP for every five minutes you spend punching it.**

OK, so now that he had created the skill, it showed up in the description given by {Observation}, fair enough. What Naruto wanted to know is how {Observation} knew he could create the ability.

"Naruto!" Iruka-sensei's call broke him from his reverie. Naruto turned around to see his sensei walking towards him. He noticed Iruka looked a bit tired.

**[Observation] has levelled up.**

Naruto ignored the window and called out to Iruka, "Hey Iruka-sensei. What's up? You look tired."

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing Naruto." Iruka replied, "Just marking essays late into the night for a friend. He's off ill, so I was put in charge of marking his class's essays as well as my own."

"Damn." Naruto hated paperwork, so he really felt for the chunin, "So what are we training today?"

"Well, I thought you could try and beat your personal record on the obstacle course first." Iruka suggested, "You are only a few seconds behind the current record holder, Nobusaki Tomoya, so it's a good place to start."

Naruto resisted rolling his eyes in exasperation as another box popped up. Seriously, this was getting old already.

**[Quest Alert!]**

**Training Montage**

**Iruka is going to put you through a training regimen, so do your best.**

**First Objective: Beat own personal time on the Obstacle Course in three attempts or less.**

**Time to beat: 3.56**

**Objective Completion Reward: + 100 EXP, + 2 Stat Points**

**Bonus Objective: Beat the previous record holder's time of 3.22**

**Failure: + 50 EXP**

"Yosh. Time to kick ass." Naruto declared as he hit the 'Y' button to accept the quest. He stepped up to the start of the course and looked out at it. The course was a moderately difficult run of pitfalls, tripwire, automatic shuriken launchers that fired blunted wooden shuriken, as well as twists and turns that were all designed to hinder a person running the course, as well as tests them on their ability to think on their feet.

"On your marks…." Iruka said as he pulled a stopwatch from his pocket. Naruto tensed up and prepared to run when Iruka gave the word.

"GO!"

Naruto exploded into motion, running straight down the centre of the course, eyes darting left and right to search for the first obstacle. A few seconds later, a flurry of shuriken were sent flying at him. The blond boy threw himself into a forward roll, narrowly avoiding the wooden projectiles, as well as leaping over a tripwire.

The rest of the course was pretty standard and by the time Naruto came to the end of it, he had built up a small amount of sweat.

"Iruka-sensei, what was my time?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"3.43." Iruka replied, "You beat the time Naruto. Well done."

"Let me go again!" Naruto practically begged.

"OK." Iruka said, and hit a button that reset the traps and reloaded the shuriken launchers, "On your marks."

Naruto was practically vibrating in place as he waited for the go from Iruka-sensei.

"GO!" Iruka called.

Naruto raced across the course much faster than before. Now that he knew where most of the traps and shuriken launchers were, he was much better at dodging them. At the end of the course, he threw an imploring look at Iruka-sensei.

"3.21" Iruka announced with a proud smile, "You beat the record by a single second. Well done, Naruto."

"Hell yeah!" Naruto cheered.

**[Objective Complete!]**

**Personal Best Time Beaten: + 100 EXP, + 2 Stat Points.**

**Course Record Beaten: Mystery Prize from Iruka at the end of the quest.**

"Ne, Iruka-sensei, who was this Nobusaki Tomoya guy anyway?" Naruto asked, noting the fact that his teacher didn't seem to see the blue box floating in midair as he surreptitiously closed it.

"Hmm? Oh, he was a genin from my class." Iruka replied, "He washed out of the Shinobi Program because of a health problem in his last year. He was arrogant, but he set the standard for the obstacle courses that few manage to come near. He barely tried with the basic course, but got a good score anyway."

"Didn't the Densetsu no Sannin or that Itachi guy get better scores?" Naruto queried. It seemed odd to him that a washout had a better time than some of the most famous (and infamous) ninja ever produced by Konoha.

"The Sannin were before the Academy built the three obstacle courses in their current forms, so they don't count." Iruka replied, "And yes, if he had taken this course, Itachi would have broken the time with ease, but his father requested he be put through accelerated training, so the only obstacle course he ever used was the advanced course. Obviously he now holds the top time for that particular course now."

"Huh." Naruto didn't know what to say about that, so he decided to move past it, "So what's next?"

"Shurikenjutsu." Iruka replied, "First, I'll go over the actions, then inspect your gear, then you will have time to practice it. Okay?"

"Gotcha." Naruto nodded. As he expected, another blue box opened up.

**[Quest Update]**

**Training Montage: The Rain of Steel: Listen to Iruka's lecture on Shurikenjutsu, then show him your shuriken. Once he either approves or replaces your shuriken, you have ten throws.**

**Second Objective: Attain a 80% successful hit ratio.**

**Bonus objective: Hit three vital spots on at least one targets.**

**Objective Completion reward: +100 EXP, + 1 DEX**

Naruto endured the rather boring lecture on correct posture, strength, etc, etc that Iruka gave. He already knew everything that the man was talking about already. The two reasons that he was a two time failure at the Academy were because of his inability to create a Bunshin and his abysmal written work. He could throw shuriken and kunai just fine.

"Right then Naruto. Show me your shuriken." Iruka said once he (finally) finished his lecture. Naruto brought out his shuriken, most of which were fairly old. He had only been able to buy the damn things because the Academy shop wasn't allowed to refuse to serve a student.

Iruka frowned after he examined them. "Naruto, these aren't real shuriken. They are imitation shuriken."

"What?!" Naruto yelped and then quickly used the {Observe} skill on the shuriken Iruka was holding.

**[Display Shuriken]**

**They look like the real deal, but they ain't. Twice as heavy as a real shuriken and horribly unbalanced, you would have more luck spitting against the wind than hit a target with these things. - 30 to accuracy when used as a thrown weapon.**

**Thrown Weapon**

**LV1**

**2 Damage**

"Dammit!" Naruto cursed.

"Naruto, have you been using these all year?" Iruka asked carefully.

"Ever since I bought them at the Academy shop in my first year here." Naruto replied furiously, "I couldn't replace them because every time I try, the damn shop is 'mysteriously' out of stock."

"You do realise that you've been scoring just below average with these things." Iruka gestured at the fake shuriken, "I'm looking forward to how you do with actual Academy Shuriken. Here you go."

With that, Iruka pulled a shuriken holster from his pouch and gave it to Naruto who took it gleefully.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei!" he said happily, "Whoa, this is much lighter than my old one."

"Check your holster." Iruka said with a sigh, "I think it's weighted as well."

"EH!?" Naruto practically ripped off his old kunai and shuriken holder and emptied it out onto the ground. Weighing it in one hand against the new one, which was full of new shuriken, his old holster weighed far more than his new one. A feeling of hopeless anger welled up in him.

"What the _hell_ have I _ever_ done that's made every sorry son-of-a-bitch in this damn village want to get in my way all the time?!" Naruto growled, "I mean, seriously! Who goes to all this effort for a twelve year old kid!?"

Iruka looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Naruto…"

"Sorry Iruka-sensei." Naruto sighed as he let his anger go, "It's been a pretty shitty week for me."

"Still sore about that spar against Sasuke?" Iruka guessed.

The blond pulled a sour face. He had been paired against Sasuke in a spar the previous day. The 'Avenger' had sucker punched him out of the arena.

"The bastard needs to be taken down a peg." Naruto grumbled, "I'm not going to let him win just like that! No way! I don't give up!"

"Good attitude." Iruka noted with a smile, "Now try your hand at the throwing range, OK?"

"Gotcha!" Naruto strapped on his new holster and walked to the edge of the range. The target dummies of the Academy Shuriken Range, known affectionately as 'Training-kun', are human shaped straw dummies with red and white circular target boards on them. There are five boards on the body; one per hand, one on the head, one over the heart and one over the groin area.

The centre of each of each target board is referred to as a vital area. Any hit with a kunai or shuriken to that area counts as a disabling hit to that area. In the case of the head and heart area, it counts as a kill shot.

"{Observe}" Naruto whispered as he hefted one of his new shuriken into his line of sight as he pretended to get a good idea of how much it weighed.

**[Academy Shuriken]**

**An average-quality shuriken used by students of the Konohagakure Shinobi Academy. It is well balanced and can, in a pinch, be used in combat, although this is more of a practice weapon than an actual weapon.**

**Thrown Weapon**

**LV3**

**10 Damage**

OK, so this shuriken is _five times _as effective as the damn fake ones he had been using up until now AND there is _no_ accuracy penalty to using these ones, so he hoped he could at least get a decent score.

With a quick flick of the wrist, he sent the shuriken he held at the target, but misjudged it because of how light it was compared to his old ones, so it flew wide, missing the dummy altogether.

"Dammit!" Naruto cursed, "OK, test throw over. Now to get serious…"

Naruto then pulled another shuriken from his holster and, after confirming that it was indeed another Academy Shuriken, threw it at the dummy, aiming for the groin area of the Training-kun dummy.

{THUNK}

"Ata! Dead centre!" Naruto fist-pumped at his successful hit, although he mentally winced at the thought of being struck _there_ of all places by a shuriken. Ouch.

To Naruto's delight, the next three throws were just a successful, with three shots to the centre of the head, heart and left arm. He missed the centre of the right arm just barely according to Iruka-sensei, but Naruto still felt good about his accuracy currently being 90%.

He moved three paced to his left so he could target a fresh Training-kun and then let loose with his remaining five shuriken, scoring a hit with every single throw.

"Aw _hell_ yeah!" Naruto celebrated. He had just scored 90% with 9 hits out of 10. As he expected, another small box appeared.

**[Congratulations!]**

**Objective Complete! You attained a hit ratio of 80% or more!**

**Objective Completion Reward: + 100 EXP, +1 DEX.**

**Bonus Objective Completion Reward: Mystery Award from Iruka after the quest is over.**

**Hidden Objective Reward: Attain a hit ratio of 90% or more: +200 EXP.**

Even as he was reading that one, another box popped up over part of it.

**As a result of a specific action, the skill [Shurikenjutsu] had been created.**

**[Shurikenjutsu] (Passive/Active) [Level 1, 00.00 EXP] [5 CP]**

**Shurikenjutsu is the art of thrown weapons. Any handheld bladed weapon that has [Thrown Weapon] in its description can be used with this skill. Shuriken, Senbon and Kunai are a few examples. **

**Passively increases DEX by 2%**

**Passively increases damage with Thrown Weapons by 5%**

**Actively increases accuracy of Thrown Weapons by 5%**

'_I already knew how to throw shuriken before I got this skill!_' Naruto yelled to himself in a fit of pique, '_I mean c'mon!…Gah! Another one just popped up!_'

**Through diligent training, your DEX had increased by 1.**

Naruto decided to just dismiss the odd messages and figure out what they were all about later. He turned to face Iruka-sensei and waved his hands in what seemed like a random, excitable way, but was in fact him hitting the button-like things that closed the boxes.

"Did ya see that Iruka-sensei?" Naruto yelled excitedly, "I did it!"

"So you did." Iruka smiled at the boy who was practically bouncing with excitement, "Now, the last part of the training I'm going to give you is Taijutsu. I want you to show me your forms for the Academy's _**Hakage**_ Style and I'll correct your forms as needed. Then we'll have a spar. Sound good to you, Naruto?"

"Hell yeah!" Naruto cheered. He _really_ wanted to get better at Taijutsu so he could wipe the smirk off Sasuke's brooding, smug face.

That and maybe prove to Sakura that he wasn't a complete loser.

**[Quest Update!]**

**You're on the final leg now. Demonstrate your **_**Hakage**_** Style Taijutsu to Iruka and allow him to make corrections to your stances, punches and kicks before you engage in a spar with him.**

**Third Objective: Last at least four minutes in a spar with Umino Iruka**

**Objective Completion Reward: +100 EXP, +1 VIT, +1 STR.**

**Objective Failure: + 50 EXP.**

**Bonus Objective: Make Iruka actually put some effort into sparring with you.**

'_Jeez, whatever this box thing is, it's really grinding on my nerves. I already know that the chunin-sensei have to hold back a lot when they spar with students._' Naruto thought sourly.

"Ready, Naruto?" Iruka asked, drawing the blond boy's attention back to the chunin.

"Ready!" Naruto replied and assumed the basic ready stance of Konoha's _**Hakage**_ Style that he had been taught.

Iruka frowned again. "Naruto, what is that supposed to be?"

"The basic stance." Naruto replied in a confused voice.

"It's similar, but subtly different." Iruka said, "It's a weakened version, I would say. The position of your legs is weak, leaving you vulnerable to low attacks. On top of that your arms are out of position, leaving you open and vulnerable from all sides."

"But…Mizuki-sensei taught me this stance…" Naruto protested.

"Did he now?" Iruka muttered to himself, "Well I'm correcting it. Place yourself like this."

The scar-faced chunin demonstrated the correct stance to Naruto, who shifted himself to mimic his teacher.

"Hey, this doesn't feel uncomfortable like the first stance does." Naruto commented.

"No fighting stance should feel uncomfortable, Naruto." Iruka told him, "In a way, it's a good thing that you were uncomfortable with the first stance, as it will be easier for you to unlearn that one and then commit this one to muscle memory."

"Whatever you say Iruka-sensei." Naruto replied, "Just so long as I can kick the Teme's ass in a spar."

It took almost an hour for Naruto to perform the stances and kata of the _**Hakage**_ Style to Iruka's satisfaction. In that time, a small box popped up stating that his hard work had made his STR go up by one.

"Alright, that should do it." Iruka said at last, "Just practice those in your own time and you'll do fine. Ready for that spar?"

"Bring it on, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto declared with an air of confidence and moved towards the sparring circle, followed by Iruka.

Iruka brought out a coin and held it up. "We'll start when this coin hits the ground, alright?"

When Naruto nodded, Iruka flipped the coin into the air with a soft metallic {chink}. The coin spun lazily in the air before beginning its descent to the ground as Naruto and Iruka tensed themselves.

The coin hit the ground with a soft thud.

Naruto exploded into motion, a fist flying at Iruka even before the dust from the coin's landing started to rise. Taken off guard, Iruka dodged to one side and struck out with a kick he deliberately slowed down so Naruto could see it coming.

Naruto ducked under the kick and lashed out with a low kick that hit true on Iruka's leg. It being the only thing keeping him upright as he was in mid-kick, the chunin began to fall.

'_Not bad._' Iruka thought as he slammed a hand onto the ground and sent a mildly strong and fast kick at his student.

"Crap!" was all Naruto could say before the sandaled foot connected, sending him stumbling back a couple of feet. He had to admit that Iruka-sensei really knew his stuff. He had only been sent back as far as Sasuke had sent him on the previous week's spar when he had lasted two minutes against the Last Uchiha.

"My turn to attack, I'd say." Iruka grinned at Naruto as he leapt athletically to his feet. He telegraphed a basic right straight at Naruto, but turned it into an elbow strike halfway.

Naruto, having spotted the feint just before it had happened, leapt to one side and drove his fist into Iruka's side, actually making Iruka stagger back clutching his side.

'_For such a small kid, he packs quite the punch!_' was what Iruka was thinking as he held his side, '_He's_ _pretty quick on his feet and knows how to make the best use of the fact that he's much smaller than me. Time to up the difficulty to the next level, I think._'

Up until this point, Iruka had only been using the equivalent strength of an academy student who was average in Taijutsu, but now he used the abilities of a student who specialised in Taijutsu.

Naruto ducked under a punch, dodged a kick and blocked a strong backhand. He was completely on the defensive now, which had always been the problem for Naruto. Even if his Taijutsu had been good, Sasuke was faster and he had trained in a far more advanced style than the Academy's _**Hakage**_ Style.

'_I need to keep my cool._' Naruto though, '_Iruka-sensei is fighting at just above my level of strength and speed, meaning he isn't super fast. If I can read his strikes, there'll be a pattern that I can take advantage of…I hope._'

Iruka kept up the onslaught for a couple of minutes while he easily read Naruto's plan in his eyes. He made a mental note to teach the kid a poker face as it was far too easy to read him.

Naruto made his move as Iruka drew his arm back from a punch. He grabbed onto it, used the arm as leverage to forcibly pull Iruka down to his level before leaping up and slamming his knee into the Instructor's chin. Not entirely a part of the _**Hakage**_ Style, it was nonetheless effective, making the chunin see stars for a moment.

"Ow…sneaky Naruto." Iruka said as he put up one hand, signalling the end of the spar, "That last move wasn't in the Hakage Style, but I will grant you that it is effective."

"Eh-heh!" Naruto chuckled nervously, "I knew you were looking for me to use one of the standard counterattacks, so I decided to try something you weren't expecting."

"Well it worked." Iruka rubbed his jaw ruefully, "Don't try that with your classmates though. They'd be knocked out or lose some teeth or something."

"Gotcha." Naruto nodded.

**[Congratulations!]**

**Objective Complete! Lasted at least four minutes in a spar with Iruka.**

**Objective Completion Reward: + 100 EXP, +1 VIT, + 1 STR**

**Bonus Objective Complete! Iruka used Low-Genin level speed against you.**

**Bonus Objective Completion Reward: Mystery Prize from Iruka after Quest completion.**

As Naruto read this, another couple of boxes popped up next to it.

**Your Level has gone up by one. Level 4 - Level 5.**

**You have five Attribute points to spend.**

Naruto had a vague idea of what that referred to, so he turned his attention to the other one.

**As the result of training, the skill [Beginner's Hakage Style Taijutsu] has been created.**

**[Beginner's Hakage Style Taijutsu] (Passive/Active) [Level 1, 00.00 EXP]**

**The basic style of Taijutsu taught at the Konohagakure Shinobi Academy. Hakage Style has no particular inclinations towards attack or defence, instead having the characteristic of being easy to learn. The beginner's set is basic punching, kicking and a few basic grapples.**

**Passively increases STR by 5%**

**Passively increases DEX by 5%**

**Passively increases STA by 5%**

**As a result of a special action, the skill [Knee Driver] has been created.**

**[Knee Driver] (Active) [Level 1, 00.00 EXP]**

**A taijutsu move that combines the upward motion of a jump with both the strength of the user's own muscles with the downward forced exerted as the user drags the enemy's head down to meet their rising knee.**

**Increases unarmed attack by 10% during this skill's duration.**

**5% chance of causing [Stun] status effect.**

Naruto looked at the screens blankly before closing them. This was getting out of hand. He looked at Iruka-sensei, who hadn't seemed to notice him pressing something in midair.

"What's next, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked eagerly.

"Sorry Naruto." Iruka said, "I have to report to Hokage-sama about this year's genin candidates, so I'll be heading off in a moment."

"Awwww." Naruto slumped. He was just warmed up!

"Now, I know you're disappointed, so I have some consolation prizes for doing so well today." Iruka told him with a small smile and unrolled a scroll, spreading it out across the ground. On it were three storage seals.

"For doing so well on the Obstacle Course, you've got this." Iruka unsealed the first item in a cloud of smoke. What appeared from the seal was a brown book emblazoned with the title '_Intermediate __**Hakage**__ Style_' emblazoned on the front.

"Once you're certain that you have the basics down pat, read this and come to me with any questions." Iruka told an ecstatic looking Naruto, "And I _mean it _when I tell you to only read this once you've mastered the basics. You might hurt yourself if you try something too advanced for you."

"Hai, sensei." Naruto nodded reluctant acceptance to this qualifier.

"Next, for doing so well on the Shurikenjutsu range, you have this." Iruka unsealed another scroll, "It's a scroll on how to perform a quick-draw technique. Once you have it down, it'll really improve your Shurikenjutsu."

"Cool!" Naruto had always wondered if something like that had existed.

"Finally, for doing so well in our spar not long ago, you have this." The item that was unsealed this time was a book on various types of exercises, "If you follow the steps in this book, you'll improve your body and get fit enough to be a shinobi."

"Iruka-sensei…thank you." Naruto was a bit tongue-tied. He hadn't been given all that much from people. The Hokage had given him several small items over the years that Naruto treasured; his nightcap, a framed picture of the two of them eating Ramen at Ichiraku's and his green goggles were the three he liked the most.

"No problem Naruto." Iruka smiled as he ruffled the boy's unruly hair, "Helping students out is the job of a teacher."

Iruka resealed the three prizes into the scroll, rolled it up and gave it to Naruto.

**[You have received the item 'Three Prizes Storage Scroll']**

Ignoring the window Naruto gave Iruka a hug and a grin.

"Thanks again Iruka-sensei!" Naruto though for a moment, "Ne, do you know how I can get faster? I was so slow there it wasn't even funny."

Yes, Naruto could be cocky, but he was also honest enough with himself that if he saw a fault, he would take steps to correct it.

"Hmmm." Iruka thought for a moment, "Training weights would definitely help you out there. So would following the running exercises I gave you in that book. Combining the two would give you the best results, I think."

"But…where do I get training weights? And would they even sell me any?" Naruto wondered worriedly.

"I'll take you to a shop I know tomorrow at midday." Iruka promised, "Just make sure you stay out of trouble today, alright?"

"Hai." Naruto replied. There went the prank he had planned for later in the day. Ah well. Some sacrifices had to be made in order to kick Sasuke-teme's butt!

"Make sure you do." Iruka said sternly, "Now, I'd better be off. See you tomorrow Naruto."

Iruka vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving Naruto shaking his head.

"I have got to learn how to do that." he muttered.

A second later, another box popped up.

**[Congratulations!]**

**You have successfully completed your training with Iruka and have become stronger for it!**

**Quest Completion Reward: + 500 EXP.**

**Bonus Reward: Impressed Iruka: + 150 Reputation with Umino Iruka, + 150 Reputation with Sarutobi Hiruzen.**

"Oooookaaaayyyy." Naruto said slowly as he tucked his scroll into an inside pocket of his jumpsuit, "Next mission: find out what the heck this RPG-like window-thing is."

He wasn't surprised to see another box pop up at what he said.

**[Quest Alert!]**

**You are perplexed about these messages, which is understandable. Return to your run-down apartment and read the book on top of your bedside table for the answers.**

**Quest Completion Reward: + 400 EXP, Answers.**

**Quest Failure Reward: More reminders about location of the book.**

**Accept?**

**[Y/**N**]**

The 'N' button was greyed out and when Naruto pressed it curiously, nothing happened. Shrugging, he pressed 'Y', making the box disappear.

"What the hell is going on?" Naruto muttered, "I don't even _have_ a bedside table!"

Shrugging, the orphan turned and started making his way back to his apartment where he hoped he would find answers to this whole mysterious blue box business.

**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN**

**Office of Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hokage Tower**

"…And that is my report for today, Hokage-sama." Iruka finished. The chunin was standing at attention in front of a large wooden desk. Behind that desk sat an old man wearing white and red robes and a fancy looking hat with the kanji '**火**' (Fire) emblazoned upon it.

"So there is no doubt in your mind?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked. The venerable old man clasped his hands in front of him as he gazed at Iruka impassively.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Iruka replied, "Uzumaki Naruto's shinobi education has been grievously sabotaged, although thankfully not beyond recovery. With just a couple of hours of on-on-one instruction, I was able to deduce that his weaknesses are deliberately induced by outside parties, rather than lazy habits developed as a lack of attention to the lessons."

"And Naruto told you that his incorrect Taijutsu was taught to him by Toji Mizuki?" Sarutobi pressed.

"Yes." Iruka didn't like ratting out a friend, but he also didn't like his friend sabotaging a student, regardless of what that student held within himself, "I believe that Mizuki has let his hatred of the Kyuubi blind him to the truth of who Naruto is. I am hardly one to talk though, as I was the same before you talked to me."

"Even before I did that, you were leaning towards realising the truth for yourself, Iruka-kun." Sarutobi corrected him, "Mizuki however is not. I believe he requires a closer examination. Neko!"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" a purple-haired woman wearing the uniform of the ANBU and a cat-mask barked as she seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

"Detail a team to keep an eye on Toji Mizuki. I want to know what he does in and out of the Academy better than he does. Also keep an eye on who he talks to. A little too much information about our graduates is being found out not long after each class and a man's hatred can make his morals rot, especially if left to simmer for a decade."

"By your command, Hokage-sama." Neko vanished with a puff of smoke.

"Surely he wouldn't betray Konoha!" Iruka muttered to himself.

"He already has by attempting to stunt the growth of a boy with immensely high potential as a shinobi. In addition, I have received some unsettling reports from several spies that confirm that information has been leaked that an Academy Chunin Sensei could easily access." Sarutobi said with a sigh, "My thanks for your report, Iruka-kun. Please come by to give me your report on how the shopping trip goes tomorrow."

"Presuming Naruto doesn't prank anyone today, I will." Iruka replied.

"I have the feeling he will behave himself." Sarutobi replied as he began his fight against paperwork yet again, "He wants to become stronger, so he will do what it takes to do that."

As Iruka left the office, he thought about his friend Mizuki. He really hoped that the man hadn't done anything worse than what had been uncovered today, because if he had…

'…_Mitarashi Anko will have a new play-toy._' Iruka concluded grimly.

**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN**

**Next Chapter: Rules and Friendships**

**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN**


	2. Rules and Friendships

**Author's Note: Here's Chapter Two.**

**To clear things up, there will be no major crossovers other than Naruto x Gamer, so no Evil Pieces from DXD. **

**The romance angle is quite often ignored in this kind of Fic, so I aim to modify that. But the question remains: single pairing, threesome or a Harem? Let me know.**

**Read and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either Naruto or The Gamer.**

"Sakura-chan!" - Regular Speech

'_Baka!_' - Thoughts

_:Shannaro!:_ - Inner Sakura

**[Quest Announcement]** - Gamer Ability/Notification

**Chapter 2: Rules and Friendships**

"Oh for the love of…! _Again?!_" Naruto sighed in mild exasperation.

He had just entered his apartment after his training session with Iruka-sensei when, much to his irritation, he had discovered yet another plastic bag of dog crap sitting amid the shattered glass of his living room window.

"Seriously? Twice in one day?" Naruto complained aloud, "Whoever is doing this has no imagination and _way_ too much time on their hands."

Sighing heavily, the blond orphan made his way to the kitchen to get the unpleasant task of cleaning his living room up out of the way…again.

Naruto had no proof, but he suspected that whoever was responsible for the whole dog crap thing was the person who had been harassing him for years, ever since he moved into his apartment at the age of five. Broken windows, vandalised doors…one time he had even come home to his door busted down and his apartment wrecked.

The main problem was that he had no idea who was doing it. Any time this kind of thing happened, he was either at the Academy, out doing shopping or in his bed asleep.

"Now then…where's that book that the weird box/window thing was talking about?" Naruto muttered as he walked into his bedroom, "Ah-ha!"

There, upon a brand-new wooden table, was a thick book with the title '_The Gamer's Guide_' emblazoned in elegant gold writing on the front cover.

People might call Naruto stupid, and it was true he wasn't the sharpest sword in the armoury, but it didn't take a genius to connect the dots here.

"So…this is the book the 'quest' wants me to read." Naruto said as he eyed the book and table suspiciously. Call him paranoid if you like, but books and tables don't generally appear from nowhere. The last time he had just accepted a situation at face value, it had been when he found a bowl of ramen freshly made in his kitchen one day when he woke up.

He had spent the next two days either sitting on the toilet or barfing his guts up, so once bitten, twice shy is Naruto's motto for strange, unexplained items appearing before him.

After staring at the book for a moment, Naruto gingerly reached out a hand and carefully picket it up, half-expecting it to blow up or something. What actually happened was that a box/window appeared, floating an inch or so above the surface of the book's cover. When he shook the book, the box/window stayed the same distance away from the cover without so much as wavering.

**[You have acquired 'The Gamer's Guide']**

**Do you wish to learn this?**

**[Y/N]**

"Finally, some answers!" Naruto muttered as he hit the 'Y' button. Much to his shock, the book dissolved into a blue light that rather looked like chakra. It swirled around him for a moment before vanishing, prompting another box/window to open.

**[Congratulations! You have unlocked the Guide!**]

**To open the guide, merely say 'Guide' aloud.**

"{Guide}" Naruto said. A new window opened as the first one close automatically.

**[Welcome to the Guide. Please select a topic from below to view.]**

**- Introduction [Q]**

**-Attribute Points and Attributes**

**-Raising Stats**

**-Level**

**-Quests**

**-Flaws**

**-Skills**

**-Reputation**

There were a couple more options beneath that, but Naruto ignored them as his eyes were drawn to the first option. Iruka-sensei had drummed it into him that the basics were the most important part of a shinobi's skill set, so he had to master those first before moving on to more advanced subjects.

Besides, the 'Introduction' button had a golden 'Q' sign next to it, so Naruto supposed that that indicated the 'Quest objective'.

Seating himself on his bed, the blond Academy Student hit the 'Introduction' button, making another window pop up immediately. Now maybe he'd get some answers.

**[Greetings, Chosen Gamer of this world. If you are seeing this, then Gaia has chosen you to wield this power.]**

"Who -or what- the hell is 'Gaya'?" Naruto wondered aloud before he read the next line, which answered his question…sort of.

**[If you don't know who or what Gaia is, then read up about it in the Library. More specifically, read about the 'Gaia Theory'. That isn't really that important right now though. The most important fact for you to know is that you have been given an ability known as 'The Gamer'.]**

"Great, now this damn box/window thing is giving me homework!" Naruto bemoaned. He got enough of that at the Academy!

**['The Gamer' is a powerful ability, given only to those deemed worthy by Gaia. Across multiple parallel universes, realities and worlds, only a small handful of people are deemed worthy of holding this power, so consider yourself honoured.]**

"Yeah, yeah, I get it; the damn box-power is strong." Naruto groused, "Now tell me what it can do!"

**[OK, obligatory impressive speech, over. Now we get to the meat of the matter.**

'**The Gamer' has the ability to turn repeated actions into 'Skills'. It doesn't matter what you can do; fire lasers, swing swords, fly or whatever else. Anything can be turned into 'Skills'…even something as mundane as washing the dishes.]**

"That's…really weird." Naruto sweatdropped as he read the last part. _Washing dishes?_ Seriously? What the hell kind of weird-ass ability did he have?

**[Almost uniformly, all aspects of 'The Gamer' are invoked verbally, as you have no doubt surmised by now. You have at several pages with information and abilities that you can invoke merely by saying the name of the page.**

**First, the Status Page. This displays several things; your Stats and Perks, your current Level and your current HP and MP/SP/CP, as well as your Flaws, Special Status, Inventory and currently equipped equipment.**

**Next is the 'Skills' page. This displays all the skills you have learned, as well as their current level, a small description of what they do and their effects.**

**The 'Perks' page shows you your current Perks and their effects.**

**The 'Flaws' page shows you all of the current flaws that you have, as well as their effects, negative or otherwise.**

**The 'Quests' page shows you all the quests you are currently undergoing, as well as the quests you have completed in the past.**

**Finally, the 'Reputation' page shows you your standing with various, people, Groups, Clans, Cities and Nations.]**

Naruto blinked at this. It was a lot to take in, but the blond orphan suspected that this would be very, very useful once he actually knew what the hell all of that blurb _meant_.

**[There is one final thing to inform you of, Gamer.**

**Every single person who receives this power has had one of three reactions. Some choose to try and ignore their power and carry on as they did before they were granted this power. That never turns out well.**

**Some become a force for Good or Evil using this power. The majority of people who receive this power take this route, although not many survive taking the 'Evil' route for some reason.**

**The final route people choose to go is that of the original and first wielder of this ability: survival.**

**Regardless of which path you choose to walk, life as you once knew it is gone, never to return.]**

"You could at least sound sympathetic, you bastard!" Naruto huffed indignantly.

**[Now, this concludes the introduction. Kindly read the rest of the Guide for more detailed information on all that has been mentioned previously. More information will be added as you discover more aspects of your ability.**

**All that is left is for me to wish you good luck as the chosen 'Gamer' of your world.**

**-The Game Master**

**Han Jee-Han]**

Naruto sat quietly for a moment and contemplated this new turn to his life. He was still very suspicious, but none of the information he had been given indicated that there was any negative consequences of this ability…except the strong possibility of dying if he became evil or ignored it.

To quote his friend, Nara Shikamaru, this was _troublesome_.

Still, there also didn't seem to be any way for him to get out of this. Naruto wasn't sure, but the writing seemed to suggest that this was irrevocable. He wasn't being given a choice here; he had the power, so he had to deal with it.

The blond boy knew he couldn't ignore it; Iruka-sensei had given several lectures about the consequences of ignoring problems. The point being that they tended to bit you on the ass if you ignored them for too long.

"So…I'd better learn everything I can about this 'Gamer' thing, now that I have it." Naruto mused aloud. Course of action decided, he closed the 'Introduction' window and was about to hit the 'Stat Points and Stats' button when another window popped up.

**[Congratulations!]**

**You have unlocked the Guide and received basic answers about your new ability!**

**Quest Completion Reward: +400 EXP**

Closing that one, Naruto developed a tick mark on his forehead as yet another one popped up.

**[Quest Alert!]**

**Scrolling Through Life: Having learnt about your ability, you should now check out Iruka-sensei's gifts.**

**Objective: Learn at least one of the skills in the books by the [Skill Absorption] aspect of 'The Gamer'**

**Quest Completion Reward: +500 EXP, +20 Academy Shuriken**

**Accept?**

**[Y/N]**

"Skill Absorption? Oh the book destroying thing? Right." Naruto said as he hit 'Y', "Cool. Time to check out Iruka-sensei's scroll!"

Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out the scroll containing the three books Iruka-sensei had given him. Well, two books and one scroll, but you get the picture.

Unrolling it, Naruto carefully unsealed all three items; The Fast-Draw technique scroll, the Intermediate _**Hakage**_ Style Book and the book of exercises.

"Hmmm…I can't learn the Taijutsu book 'cause I promised Iruka-sensei, so that leaves…this one!" Naruto grabbed the scroll, making the expected window pop up.

**[You have acquired the '**_**Hikō Yoshin Fast Draw Technique**_**' scroll.]**

**Do you wish to learn it?**

**[Y/N]**

"Bet your ass I do!" Naruto muttered as he hit 'Y' with his free hand and watched as, just like the Guide, the scroll dissolved into blue light before vanishing into him.

**[Hikō Yoshin Fast Draw Technique] (Passive and Active) [LV1, 00.00 EXP]**

**The Hikō Yoshin, or 'Flying Leaf Blade', Technique is a basic fast draw technique used by Genin-level shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato in order to more efficiently draw thrown weapons and use Shurikenjutsu.**

**Passively Increases user's drawing speed with [Thrown Weapons] by 5%**

**Actively Increases [Thrown Weapon] Speed by 1%**

**Actively Increases [Thrown Weapon] Damage by 1%**

This is so kick-ass!" Naruto declared as he fist-pumped in victory, "Now for the other one!"

In short order the book, '_A Hundred-and-One Exercises_' was absorbed. Rather than give him a skill, however, it gave him a permanent +8% EXP increase when he was physically exercising.

**[Congratulations!]**

**Scrolling Through Life: You have learned a technique from the gifts Iruka gave you!**

**Quest Completion Reward: + 500 EXP, + 20 Academy Shuriken**

**Hidden Objective Completed: Learn an additional skill.**

**Hidden Objective Reward: + 40 Academy Kunai**

"Hell yeah!" Naruto cheered, "This is awesome!"

After he calmed down from his celebration. Naruto remembered the fact that his window was still broken from the bastard who broke it this morning. With a sigh, he walked out into the hall and opened a largish cupboard, revealing several lengths of wood and stacks of glass.

After the first fifty or so times that his window had been smashed by the mysterious vandal, the Landlord had told Naruto that as whoever it was that was smashing his window was only doing it to his window, he could fix the damn things.

This had been when he was seven.

After a crash course in joinery, glass cutting and carpentry, Naruto had been able to make a reasonable-looking window. Moreover, as his window was smashed at least once a week, he got plenty of damn practice at it. Something that Naruto had browbeaten his bastard Landlord into doing was that the fat bastard had to at least buy the supplied for him to do the repairs.

"There." Naruto wiped some sweat from his brow about an hour later, "That'll do it…until the bastard breaks the window _again_."

Naruto sighed when three windows popped up once he had finished putting away his tools.

**[Skill Created!]**

**As the result of repeated actions, the skill [Joinery] has been created.**

**[Joinery] (Passive) [LV 26, 55.68 EXP]**

**Joinery is very basically shaping wood to fit a surface, usually for a house.**

**Requires [Joinery Tools] in order to use.**

**Passively Increases the Success Ratio of successful [Joinery] actions by 30%.**

**Passively Reduces the amount of wood wasted in [Joinery] actions by 25%.**

**[Skill Created!]**

**As the result of repeated actions, the skill [Glass Cutting] has been created.**

**[Glass Cutting] (Passive) [LV 27, 98.10 EXP]**

**Cast in a bad light by cat burglars and the like, the legal use of Glass Cutting is to cut sheets of glass up, mostly for use in windows.**

**Requires Tool: [Glass Cutter] to use.**

**Passively Increases Success Ratio of successful [Glass Cutting] Action by 40%.**

**Passively Reduces Chance of breaking glass by 10%.**

**[Skill Created!]**

**As the result of repeated actions, the skill [Apprentice Carpentry] has been created.**

**[Apprentice Carpentry] (Passive) [LV 15, 36.28 EXP]**

**Basic carpentry has been around for thousands of years and is the most basic form of building that there is that isn't using mud and straw. Apprentice carpentry is the basic building of things without a fine finish.**

**Requires either [Carpentry Tools] or [Joinery Tools] to use.**

**Passively adds a 5% Increase to the Success Ratio of any action involving the cutting or shaping of wood.**

**Passively decreases the amount of wasted wood from any [Carpentry] or [Joinery] action by an additional 5%.**

"Huh…Okaaaaay." Naruto said slowly, "Why the heck are these _new_ skills at such high levels?"

As he thought about it, a possibility occurred to him. All of the skills he had gotten in the last day had almost uniformly been at Level 1 and they had either been things he had either done wrong in the past or hadn't paid any attention to. Carpentry, Joinery and Glass Cutting on the other hand were things he had forced himself to get better at and had practiced fairly diligently at, so maybe if he created a skill he was fairly skilled in already, it made the skill at an appropriate level proportionate to how skilled he was at it?

It sounded likely, but he had no idea how to prove it. Shrugging, Naruto dismissed the matter and started cleaning up the dust left over from his impromptu construction work.

{Grrrrrrooooowwwwwllllll!}

His stomach roared in protest, as he hadn't eaten since the Cup Ramen he had had for breakfast.

"Right! Ichiraku's it is!" he decided. Naruto hastily finished the cleaning before running out to his favourite eatery. On the way, he noticed that everyone he saw had their name, a level and a title of some sort floating above their head. Most of them were fairly standard ones like housewife, builder and the like, but he saw a couple that surprised him.

One kunoichi that he saw, with purple hair, a miniskirt and a trench coat, had the title of **[Loyal Kunoichi of the Leaf] **floating above her head as she chomped down a stick of dango.

'_Why would she have that kind of title?_' Naruto thought.

Another odd thing about the woman was that her level was a trio of question marks, which was really puzzling for Naruto, who decided to investigate…discretely.

"{Observe}" he whispered as the window popped up in front of him.

**Name: Mitarashi Anko - Tokubetsu Jonin - LV:?-?-? HP:?-?-?/?-?-? CP: ?-?-?/?-?-?**

**Mitarashi Anko is a Tokujō in ANBU T&I. Hated and feared by the populace and a large portion of the on-duty Shinobi Forces because of her past affiliation with the traitor Orochimaru, despite her nigh fanatical loyalty to Konoha, she acts out deliberately to prove that the opinions of the civilians matter nothing to her.**

"Wow. That bites." Naruto muttered as he walked on. She had it almost as bad as he did with the civilians. Heck, she kinda had it worse because of the fact that some of the on-duty Shinobi hated her as well.

Walking into the Ramen Stand that was his home-away-from-home, Naruto espied the words floating over Teuchi and Ayame.

**Ichiraku Teuchi - LV15**

**[Master Ramen Chef]**

**Ichiraku Ayame - LV6**

**[Apprentice Ramen Chef]**

OK…that was about the normal level for a civilian of Teuchi's age. Ditto for Ayame. Ninja levels were much higher, with most Genin wavering between Level 15 and 25, while Chunin were from 25 on up. Naruto presumed that anyone who had question marks instead of numbers for their Level was a Tokujō or higher.

"Teuchi-ji-san! Ayame-nee-chan!" he called.

"Oh! Naruto, how are you today?" Teuchi called from where he was wiping the counter.

"Heh! Just started a heavy training regime-Dattebayo!" Naruto replied with a confident smile, "Definitely gonna graduate this time!"

"Ah-ha-ha! I hope you do! Teuchi laughed, "Now, what do ya want to eat?"

"Miso, Pork and Chicken and keep it coming!" Naruto declared.

"Comin' up" Teuchi said, getting to work on his best customer's order.

"How have you really been, Naruto-kun?" Ayame asked shrewdly. She knew the kind of things that happened to Naruto and his home on a regular basis.

Naruto smiled ruefully at Ayame. "Nothing worse than normal Ayame-nee-chan. Iruka-sensei gave me prizes for completing a remedial class on evasion, Shurikenjutsu and Taijutsu."

"He did, huh?" Ayame said, one eyebrow rising up in surprise, "That was nice of him. Ah, here's your first bowl. Eat up!"

Naruto dug in eagerly. Ramen was truly the food of the gods. Throughout the years, Naruto had never had to worry about being poisoned or beaten while inside Ichiraku's. He did tend to avoid the ramen stand on his birthday, so the place which was so good to him wasn't damaged by his 'well-wishers'.

Eight bowls of ramen and half an hour later, Naruto headed back to his apartment, full to the brim with his favourite food. Much to his relief, his window was still intact.

"Hmm…I guess I'd better do a bit more research on this weird power of mine." Naruto mused aloud. Because he never really had any friends, he had developed the habit of thinking aloud. First sign of madness be damned.

"{Guide}" Naruto said, making the blue window appear again, "Huh…so many topics…meh. I'll read them from the top down."

Saying that, he tapped the button labelled 'Attribute Points and Attributes', making a window appear.

**[Attribute Points and Attributes]**

**Every time you Level Up, five Attribute Points are automatically generated, which you can then use to increase your own Attributes.**

**Your Attributes are representations of your physical and mental abilities. For ordinary people, their Attribute Points are automatically distributed to their strongest areas as soon as they Level Up. A person who possesses 'The Gamer' however, can distribute their points themselves, thereby making themselves smarter/stronger/faster than an ordinary person is capable of.]**

"Holy shit!" Naruto exclaimed.

**[Your Attributes are split into three categories. Physical, Mental and Special.**

**Physical Attributes deal with the strength and speed of your body. They are Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Speed (SPD) and Stamina (STA).**

**STR is the raw physical strength of your body. This determines how much Weight you can carry, as well as the Base Damage you deal out in combat.**

**DEX represents how nimble and agile you are, determining your Accuracy as well as Attack Speed and Attack Evasion.**

**SPD is how fast you are overall. This determines your Movement Speed. This Stat receives a Buff if your STR and DEX are at the same level. (Note: Locked until special condition is fulfilled.)**

**STA represents how sturdy you are, determining a great deal of your Hit Points, Resistances to various Status Effects and Fatigue.**

**The Mental Attributes represent your mental prowess. They are Intelligence (INT) and Wisdom (WIS).**

**INT represents your ability to learn and reason, especially in problem solving. It determines how much CP you have, as well as how effective your offensive and defensive skills are. Determines your memorisation ability.**

**WIS is your common sense, basically. It determines your CP Regeneration rate, your ability to read other people's emotions and body language, as well as resistance against mental attacks, pain and torture. Determines your problem-solving ability.**

**Special Attributes are unaffected by your mind or body. They are generally of things that affect you without you being able to affect them, other than raising their Attribute Points. The only Special Stat you have access to at this time is Luck (LUK).**

**LUK is a mysterious thing. It affects a multitude of things; random encounters, monster drops and critical hits among other things.]**

Naruto shook his head as the information he just read soaked in to his mind. This…this is a cheat skill! If he used this right, he could get stronger than Sasuke-teme in no time flat!

Absently he closed the two windows as he tried to remember the command to bring up the window with his Attributes on it.

"Ummmm…{Status}." Naruto tried and was rewarded with a small window appearing in front of him.

**Name: Uzumaki Naruto**

**Class: The Gamer**

**Level: 5 Next Level: 35.43%**

**Title: Academy Student (+25% EXP to LV10)**

**Age: 12**

**HP: 700/700**

**CP: 700/700**

**STR: 11 (-5)**

**STA: 25 (-5, +10)**

**DEX: 10 (-5)**

**INT: 15 (+5)**

**WIS: 5 **

**LUK: ?**

**Special Status: ? (Passive) (+5 INT, +10 VIT, +?% EXP to ? Skill), ? (Passive) (+ 100 HP, + 100 CP Per Level), Prankster King (Passive) ( -15% Reputation gains, + 10 EXP to [Trap] Skill, + 10% EXP to [Stealth] Skill).**

**Perks: -Benten's Blessing**

**-Outside the Box**

**Flaws: -Eyesore**

**-Pariah**

**-Headstrong**

**Attribute Points: 7**

**Uzumaki Naruto is a two-time failure of the Konohagakure Shinobi Academy. Ostracised by the village and his peers for an unknown reason, he nevertheless stands proud, unwilling to let the words and attitude of the villagers get to him.**

Naruto blinked in surprise. OK, this was…weird. Interesting but weird. Why was his Wisdom that low? Was he really that lacking in common sense? He was expecting to not be smart, but this was a bit much. Just about the only decent stat among his attributes was his Stamina.

"Jeez, Iruka-sensei was right; I am a stamina freak." Naruto muttered. He turned his attention to his Special Status. Two of them were unnamed and one even added an unknown amount of EXP to an unnamed Skill. The Prankster King Status gave him mixed feelings. On one hand, he was pissed that his reputation gains were reduced by fifteen percent. On the other, the bonuses to his Stealth and Trapping Skills were not to be sneezed at.

Spotting the Attribute Points at the bottom, Naruto felt a bit conflicted. What should he do here? Improve his mental stats to be more in balance with his physical stats, or improve his physical stats so he isn't kicked around like a football during a Taijutsu Spar by Sasuke-teme?

'_On one hand, getting smarter will make class work easier._' Naruto thought, '_On the other hand, getting physically stronger will make that Teme stop beating me in a spar, which would really kick ass. Choices, choices…_'

In the end, he decided to level out his STR and DEX at thirteen, whilst putting the remaining four points into WIS. His STA didn't really need any points at the moment and, while low compared to his STA, his INT was so-so. As for his LUK…he didn't even know what the damn hell it was at. Either it was in minus numbers or it was ludicrously high, probably thanks to that _**[Benten's Blessing]**_ perk.

Having dealt with that, Naruto then checked out the Inventory part of the window. Divided in half horizontally, the bottom half was a series of boxes about the size of Naruto's thumb, while the top half had a paper doll-like figure with various boxes around it. Two boxes had pictures with the top and bottom halves of his Jumpsuit in them and another two had his ninja sandals and T-shirt in them.

"So these are what I currently have equipped then." Naruto surmised, "Let's see…"

He tapped the picture of his jacket and a small window opened up.

**[Orange Jumpsuit Jacket]**

**A hideous orange jacket that practically screams 'I AM HERE, COME GET ME!' to anyone within sight. No one with any degree of common sense would wear this monstrosity as an active duty shinobi.**

**+ 5 DEF**

**-20% to Stealth**

**Gives equipped person the [Eyesore] Flaw**

**Durability: 5/30**

"Oi! What the hell?!" Naruto yelped, "My Jacket is orange, comfortable, orange, has loads of pockets and is orange! What more could you ask!?"

Grumbling under his breath, the blond orphan glared at the window indignantly. [Eyesore]? What the hell kind of Flaw is that?! He tapped it impatiently.

**[Eyesore] (Passive)**

**Your choice in clothing leaves so much to be desired that words cannot sufficiently describe it.**

**-5% Reputation.**

**-20% to all social interactions.**

**Additional -10% to social interactions with females.**

"Shit." Naruto slumped. This must be part of the reason Sakura-chan hated him so much. Ino as well, he supposed, but Sakura-chan was the one he was most concerned about.

"Well…" Naruto sighed, "I guess I can buy a temporary outfit tomorrow with Iruka-sensei…if the place he's taking me to sells clothes."

Another window popped up, leaving Naruto staring at it in deadpan at what it said.

**[Quest Alert!]**

**Clothes Make the Man: Discovering the Flaw that your current attire gives you, you decide to by something suitable to replace it the next day when Iruka-sensei takes you shopping.**

**Objective: Purchase a new wardrobe to replace your current one.**

**Quest Completion Reward: +500 EXP, + 30 Academy Shuriken**

**Quest Failure: +50 EXP, [Eyesore] Flaw becomes Permanent.**

**Accept?**

**[Y/N]**

"…the hell?" Naruto deadpanned, "This ability gets more and more damn confusing! Screw it. I'll damn well do it!"

Naruto hit the 'Y' button. Now, most people who know Naruto would be surprised by his quick acceptance of the fact he needed to replace his clothes, given his declared love and devotion to the colour orange. His stubbornness and hard-headedness was also something of an urban legend in Konoha.

The thing that most people missed was the fact that, while all of that was true, Naruto could change his mind if he saw enough evidence was presented to him. And, given the 'Gamer' ability was telling him that his clothes were not only impeding his social interactions, especially with a certain pink-haired kunoichi-in-training, but impeding his stealth abilities, he was damn well not stupid enough to resist that kind of evidence.

"Now then…training time!" Naruto decided. He grabbed his new kunai and shuriken holster and strapped it around his right leg before running out to find a free training field.

One could never practice enough, after all.

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**The Next Day, Early Morning…**

**Outside Uzumaki Naruto's Apartment Door…**

"Naruto!" Iruka called as he knocked on the door. He had arrived to take Naruto shopping and was slightly concerned when he noticed that the window was broken.

'_Judging from the fact that the glass is all on the inside, the window was smashed from the outside. Further, the pattern of the glass indicates that it was something heavy being thrown at the centre of the window that smashed it._' Iruka's mind analysed the crime scene very swiftly, '_Conclusion: a vandal smashed it with a stone._'

Just then, a bleary looking Naruto opened the door. He had a wooden clothes peg on his nose and rubber gloves on his hands.

"Iruka-sensei? What're you doing here so early?" the blond asked.

"I had some unexpected free time this morning, so I thought I'd stop in and take you to the shop now rather than later." Iruka replied, "Why have you got a clothespin on your nose?"

"Come in and you'll see." Naruto replied. He turned around and headed back into his apartment.

"Ojamashimāsu. (Pardon me for intruding.)" Iruka muttered as he entered Naruto's home. He took off his sandals and followed his student into his living room, immediately understanding why Naruto had blocked his nose with that clothespin.

A bag of excrement was lying on his floor, presumably thrown in by the person or persons who had smashed the window. Judging by the smell, someone had left the contents of the bag to rot and ferment for a week at least.

Iruka was surprised to see Naruto quickly and efficiently clean up the mess, depositing the bag and its contents over the balcony where the building's bin was located at the bottom and using the correct cleaning products to remove the stain and remaining odour from his carpet , before picking up the shards of glass and depositing them in his bin.

"That…was very practiced." Iruka remarked, "How did you get so good at cleaning up a mess like that?"

"The window getting smashed has happened every week or so since I was seven, but the rotten dog crap? That's new; it's only happened for the last three weeks or so." Naruto shrugged nonchalantly, "Every single day too. What a pain…"

Iruka was very tempted to march out and find the ones responsible for this. "Do you have any idea who is responsible?"

"Nope." Naruto replied at once, "It always happens either when I'm asleep or at the Academy. I tried to set traps once, but my Landlord caught me and threatened to evict me if I tried to set any."

"Could it be the Landlord?" Iruka muttered..

"Nah. He was seriously pissed at me for letting someone break my window." Naruto replied, "He got really, _really_ pissed when it happened another forty-nine times in a row. I have to fix the window as well, so it's one hell of a pain in the ass for me too."

Iruka went still. "Naruto…did I just hear you wrong or did you just say that _you_ fix the windows when they get broken?"

The chunin's voice was surprisingly sharp as he said this, making Naruto blink in surprise as he removed his gloves and clothespin.

"Yeah. Watch." Naruto said casually.

The scarred chunin-sensei watched in amazement as his twelve-year-old student measured and cut wood and glass with a practiced hand. He acted like he had done this so many times that it had ingrained itself into muscle memory.

The end result was, by any standards, a very nice looking window. It was unpainted and a bit rough here and there, but overall it was very well done for a twelve year old.

"Naruto, remind me how long you've been doing this?" Iruka asked in a faux-calm manner.

"Since I was seven." Naruto shrugged lazily, as if it wasn't a big deal, "Anyway, now that that is taken care of, should we get going?"

"Naruto…" Iruka didn't know what to say here. His student was obviously used to this happening to him, but he felt that it wasn't right to force a boy of Naruto's age to act like a Joiner. He decided to report this to Hokage-sama after he had taken Naruto to the shop.

"Alright then." he nodded at Naruto, "Make sure you have your wallet."

"Gama-chan's right here!" Naruto took a fat wallet from his pocket. It was green and designed to look like a toad.

"That looks stuffed to the gunwales." Iruka chuckled, "There should be more than enough in that to get a decent set of weights in that."

"Umm…do you think it'll extend to a new wardrobe too?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"Naruto?" Iruka was surprised. Normally the blond boy dug his heels in and refused to even consider getting a new outfit. He did love his orange.

"It's just…I've been thinking and maybe orange isn't a good colour for a ninja to have." Naruto admitted, "But I _will_ have orange when I'm off duty, damn it!"

Iruka chuckled. Even when compromising on something, Naruto still managed to win.

"Follow me." he said as he led Naruto out of his apartment. The teacher and student chatted amicably about irrelevant things until they came to an out-of-the-way shop with the sign 'Higurashi Weapons and Ninja Apparels' emblazoned above the door.

"Wow!" Naruto gaped in awe at the sheer size of the shop, "They must have an entire _armoury _of weapons and stuff here!"

"Among other things, yes." Iruka said with a smile, "Higurashi's is the best shop in the village for ninja tools and equipment. The quality of the custom-made weapons is legendary, as are the regular wares. You'll find some good stuff here, Naruto."

"_If_ they'll sell to me." Naruto reiterated bitterly.

"They'll sell to you." Iruka reassured him, "I've known old Tatsuhiko for years. He's tough, but fair and has never refused to sell to a customer that I know of."

Heartened by Iruka's encouragement, Naruto followed him into the shop.

Inside, the main floor of the shop was rack upon rack of swords. Katana, Ninjatō, Nodachi, Tantō, Yoroidōshi, Wakizashi, Chokutō, Kodachi, Tachi and even a handful of Zanbatō were literally filling the room.

A long counter at the back of the room was loaded up with kunai and shuriken, ninja wire and soldier pills of all kinds. A girl who was only a year or so older than Naruto sat behind the counter polishing a kodachi. She had brown hair done up in a pair of buns on her head, steel grey eyes and wore a pink top. A hitai-ate was tied around her head to signify her status as a shinobi of Konohagakure.

"Ah? Welcome to Higurashi Weapons and Ninja Apparels." the girl placed the blade on the counter when she noticed them, "Iruka-sensei, it's been a while."

"Tenten. You look well." Iruka replied, "Is Gai still driving you nuts?"

"Oh yes." Tenten replied sourly, "YOUTH this and BURNING BRIGHTLY that. Lee is just as bad."

"Sound's tough." Iruka chuckled, "By the way, where's Tatsuhiko?"

"Oyaji's out of town to bring in a new shipment of chakra metal." Tenten said, "Kaa-san went with him to make sure he comes back quickly instead of doing a bar trawl like last time."

"Didn't he get a tattoo the last time that happened?" Iruka mused aloud, "Kanae-san's name wasn't it?"

"Yup. Kaa-san was really irked with him for that." Tenten replied with a roll of her eyes, "Anyway, who is this that you've brought with you?"

"This is Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka introduced his student, who smiled shyly at Tenten, "He's looking for some weights, as well as a new ninja outfit."

"Graduation isn't for a while." Tenten said with a frown, "Though I can see why he needs a new outfit; those kami-forsaken orange monstrosities are barely holding themselves together."

"Well excuse _me_." Naruto grumbled.

"Ah, don't worry about it." Tenten flapped her hand at him, "We'll find you something to replace that…_outfit_. How much have you got to spend?"

"Errr…not including food expenses and my rent…." Naruto pondered, "About seventy-thousand Ryo."

Tenten gaped at him for a moment. "That…that will get you quite a lot." she said at last, "Which would you like to get first? Weights or clothes?"

Naruto looked at Iruka for advice.

"Clothes." Iruka said firmly, "You can then get weights that can be concealed beneath the clothes."

"What he said." Naruto told Tenten, who giggled.

"This way then." Tenten led them through a door in the side of the room. The next room was a smorgasbord of ninja clothes and armour. There were racks of the standard Konoha chunin and Jonin outfit, as well as a great many other uniforms.

"Where the heck should I start to look?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"Try wandering around and point out something you want to look at more closely." Iruka suggested, "And Tenten, have you anything new in that you could show Naruto?"

"Hmmm…." the girl mused, "There was a new shipment of ninja outfits in from a one-time sale in Arashi no Kuni (Land of Storms). I think there's one left. I could pull it out for Naruto-san to look at."

"Just call me Naruto." the blond told her, "I'm not one for formality."

"Sure. You just call me Tenten as well." the kunoichi replied with a smile, "Wait here."

She walked into a room off to the side to fetch the shipment she had spoken about. Naruto meanwhile gazed at all of the clothes in the room and felt more than a little overwhelmed by the selection. How was he to choose any clothes from among all of this? It was like giving a starving man a feast.

"For now, I think you should get something simple to wear for day to day wear at the Academy." Iruka advised, sensing that Naruto was out of his depth, "Once you get closer to graduation, you can come back and order something to be your standard ninja outfit as a Genin."

"Sounds like an idea." Naruto replied in relief. Now that he had a guideline, he calmed down and began looking. He found a lightly armoured shirt that went over a t-shirt that didn't look as if it restricted his movement by any serious degree. It came in three different colours, black, dark red and dark green.

"{Observe}" Naruto whispered in an undertone.

**[Konoha Battle Top - Amakusa Style] [Black]**

**A standard shirt made for entry level Genin in Konoha. It is lightweight and resilient to shuriken and thrown kunai.**

**DEF +7**

**Durability: 45/45**

'_OK, this is _way_ better than my jacket._' Naruto admitted to himself, '_I'll get a couple of these…black, of course. Sakura-chan looks good in red, but I don't. And I don't like green._'

He placed three Amakusa Shirts to one side and looked through the trousers section, completely ignoring the shorts. No _way_ was he going to look anything like Sasuke-teme, in his silly-looking toy boy shorts.

**[Konoha Battle Breeches - Amakusa Style] [Black & Grey]**

**Standard trousers for entry-level Genin in Konoha. Lightweight, it is lightly armoured to resist thrown weapons.**

**DEF +7**

**Durability: 45/45**

'_Not bad. Three of these as well, I think._' Naruto thought. Just then, Tenten came back in with a box in her hands.

"Whew. Took a while to find the one I was looking for." she muttered, "Damn Oyaji and his bad organisation skills."

"Tatsuhiko always was bad at that." Iruka remarked, "I'm surprised that Kanae-san doesn't lose her temper with him about it."

"Kaa-san does." Tenten said with a grin, "Last week she chased him around the house with a frying pan."

"She's been taking lessons from Nara Yoshino then." Iruka shuddered slightly at the mention of the Nara Matriarch, "So, what have you got in the box for Naruto?"

"Well, it's a funny story that." Tenten replied, "The guy who made this set only managed to make and sell ten or so sets before he died. One of the buyers was my Oyaji. It's a complete set of shinobi armour, designed to resemble regular clothes. The whole ensemble actually provides slightly more armour than the regular chunin and Jonin outfits, although it is slightly heavier as a payoff."

"Sounds like an awesome outfit!" Naruto said in awe.

"Uh-huh. It is." Tenten confirmed, "It even has detachable areas for if you have to visit a tropical area and additional attachable parts for a winter country."

"I think Naruto would like a look at it." Iruka said dryly as he saw Naruto's eyes shining at how adaptable the outfit was.

Tenten placed the box on the floor, opened it up and removed a top from it, showing it to Naruto and Iruka.

"Wow…" Naruto muttered.

The top was a size bigger than Naruto himself. Black, with blue stripes in a simple bar-like pattern. The sleeves stopped just short of the elbows and it came with a blank metal shoulder protector.

Overall, it looked kick-ass.

"I'll take it." Naruto said firmly.

"Nice choice." Tenten said, "Do you want anything on the shoulder plate?"

Naruto detached the spiral symbol from his jumpsuit's left arm and handed it over to her. "This please." he told her.

"Interesting…" the kunoichi muttered, "What is it?"

"Jiji told me it's my clan's symbol." Naruto shrugged, "Dunno who the Uzumaki were, but I'm the last of 'em."

"I see." Tenten looked a bit sad at that, "So you're an orphan too?"

"Eh?" Naruto looked surprised by this question.

"I'm adopted." Tenten explained, seeing the look of confusion on his face, "Kaa-san can't have kids, so they adopted me from the orphanage."

"Oh…yeah, I am." Naruto replied, "Tough, isn't it?"

"Yeah…well, I'm good now. Kaa-san and Oyaji love me like a real daughter." Tenten said with a fond smile on her face.

"I'm happy for you." Naruto told her honestly, "Now, how much does this outfit plus the three shirts and trousers come to?"

"Let me see…" Tenten did a quick mental calculation, "Thirty-five thousand Ryo."

"Huh. Cheaper than my jumpsuits." Naruto commented.

"What do you mean?" Iruka asked curiously.

"For three jumpsuits at old man Hasegawa's, it costs me fifty-thousand Ryo." Naruto replied.

"Why that …!" Tenten seethed, "How _dare _he actually charge money for those…hideous excuses for clothes?! I'll tell Oyaji about this!"

"What can he do about it?" Naruto asked curiously.

"He's the Chief of the Konoha Ninja Suppliers Guild." Tenten explained, "He always cracks down hard on people who sell cheap crap to the Shinobi Forces or Academy Students. And Hasegawa isn't a registered member of the Guild, so he's in deep shit."

"Heh. Serves him right." Naruto smirked, "Ah well. These will do for now. Next is weights, I think?"

"Yeah. Got just the ones." Tenten reached into her pocket and pulled out what looked like four black sweatbands.

"Sweatbands?" Naruto asked with a sweatdrop.

"Nope." Tenten shook her head, "They have special Fūin on them that allows you to alter their weight. Theoretically, you could make them as heavy as a mountain, though you wouldn't be able to move."

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked dubiously.

"She's not tricking you Naruto." the scarred chunin told him, "Most chunin use chakra weights very similar to them for training. _Four_ of them, Tenten?"

"If he wants to improve his body equally, then he has to have one for each limb." Tenten pointed out, "Lee only has two that he wears on his legs, but he does ridiculous weight training for his arms to compensate for that. This way, Naruto can train his arms and legs equally."

"True, but they are expensive." Iruka countered, "A set of four costs fifty-to-sixty-thousand Ryo."

"As he's purchasing the last of a stock item, I'll discount it down to forty-thousand." Tenten offered.

"Done." Iruka shook hands with her, "Naruto, pay her."

Sighing a bit, Naruto took out Gama-chan and counted out his spare cash, all seventy-thousand Ryo of it, into Tenten's hands, plus an extra five-thousand for the rest.

"Thank you for your purchase and please use Higurashi's for all your Ninja Tool needs." Tenten rattled off on automatic, "Naruto, could you write down your address here so I can deliver the shoulder plate once Oyaji's engraved the emblem onto it."

"Sure." Naruto scribbled the address down on the proffered piece of paper.

"Oyaji and Kaa-san won't be back until the day after tomorrow and he'll take his time with the engraving, so you won't get it for at least a week." Tenten informed him.

"Meh. It's going to be my ninja outfit once I graduate, so it's fine." Naruto assured her. Graduation wasn't for another eight months or so, so the delay wasn't significant.

"Right then. Naruto, do you have a sealing scroll?" Iruka asked.

"Just the one you gave me, Iruka-sensei." Naruto took it from his pocket.

"Do you remember how to seal things?"

"Pulse a very small amount of chakra into the seal in order to seal or unseal anything." Naruto quoted, "The larger the item or the more items you are trying to seal, the more chakra is required."

"Well, well, you do listen." Iruka marvelled, "Only use slightly more chakra than normal for sealing this lot, alright?"

"Right!" Naruto touched a finger to the paper, which Iruka had stacked with the clothes, and channelled the smallest amount of chakra he could into it, making the clothes vanish in a small cloud of smoke.

"That was cool." Tenten remarked, "Most people have to use their whole hand to do that. Me included."

"If I use my whole hand, the scroll implodes." Naruto shrugged, "I have so much chakra that it can't be controlled easily. Hell, the whole 'Leaf Exercise' thing doesn't work because the leaf shred itself as soon as I touch it with chakra."

"Seriously?" the bun-haired girl asked in disbelief. Naruto held out a hand to Iruka, who sighed, took out a leaf and gave it to him. The blond placed it on his forehead and, as he'd explained, the leaf was shredded into tiny pieces.

"Have you tried Tree Climbing or Water Walking?" Tenten asked after she recovered from her shock, "They are more advanced chakra control exercises that you don't usually learn until you're a Genin, but it looks like you'll have to start from the top down."

Naruto looked at Iruka. "Sensei?"

"I'll have a word with Hokage-sama." he replied, "Normally, Academy Students are discouraged from learning anything that advanced unless they're from a Clan like the Hyūga, but I think he'd make an exception in this case."

"Yatta-Dattebayo!" Naruto cheered. Today rocked!

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**Next Chapter: The Academy, Take Three**

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	3. The Academy, Take Three

**Author's Note: Yo. Chapter 3 here.**

**Almost overwhelmingly, the response has been for another Harem story. Meh. I'm not complaining, as I seem to be good at writing them.**

**As to the members, the following are definitely in.**

**Tenten - She is such an undervalued character in canon. I like her and will have her in as many of my Naruto/Naruko stories as possible.**

**Sakura - A tough decision, but yes, she's in. Many Anti-Sakura people have chimed in to try to exclude her, but…meh. My story. The amount of persistence Naruto shows should be paid off, so she's in. (Besides, I hate the ending of the Manga.)**

**Those two are definitely in. For the rest, see my profile and vote!**

**Read, Review and check out my other stories!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either Naruto or The Gamer.**

"Sakura-chan!" - Regular Speech

'_Baka!_' - Thoughts

_:Shannaro!:_ - Inner Sakura

**[Quest Announcement]** - Gamer Ability/Notification

**Chapter 3: The Academy, Take Three**

_Streets of Konohagakure_

Naruto wandered back to his apartment with Iruka-sensei, who kindly volunteered to take the clothing bags. Naruto had also prevailed upon him to keep his graduation outfit at his house, just in case someone broke into his apartment and wrecked it.

Iruka had developed a pained look at that but had acceded to Naruto's request, as long as Naruto promised to actually pay attention in class and not paint bomb Mizuki when he entered the classroom…again.

Begrudgingly, Naruto had agreed, but he privately started planning to paint bomb Mizuki anywhere but the Academy…heheheheh.

"Iruka-sensei, you know all those weapons back at Higurashi's?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah?" Iruka replied, "Thinking of saving up to buy one?"

"I…dunno." Naruto admitted, "I can't really see the point buying one if I fail the exam because of that damn _**Bunshin no Jutsu **_again."

The Chunin-sensei nodded at that. Naruto was excellent at the _**Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)**_ and had some skill with the _**Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu)**_, but kept stumbling at the basic illusory clone jutsu.

"I can see how that might impact your decision." he admitted, "I'll mention it to Hokage-sama, alright. He should be able to figure something out…maybe an exemption of some sort. A student who couldn't mould chakra externally last year was granted an exemption, although he was ranked as the Dead Last because of it. He's one of Tenten's teammates right now."

"How the hell is that fair?" Naruto grumbled, "I can use the _**Henge**_ and _**Kawarimi **_but failed! This guy can't even do that! All I can't do is that stupid illusion clone that is so useless it might as well not exist!"

"Naruto…" Iruka sighed. He knew that the blond wasn't being cruel or mean. On the contrary, he had a point. Someone who wasn't even able to use chakra properly for _any_ the Academy Three had graduated, while Naruto had failed twice because he was unable to perform _one_ of them properly.

Another good point Naruto had made was about the _**Bunshin**_. It was a very useless technique that was rarely, if ever, used post-graduation because any shinobi (hell, anyone with _common sense!_) could distinguish the illusions from the original, as the illusions had no shadows.

'_The guidelines merely say that graduates 'have to demonstrate mastery of a Bunshin no Jutsu'. It isn't specifically stated that is has to be _**THE**___Bunshin no Jutsu, just _**A **_Bunshin no Jutsu._' Iruka considered before nodding.

"I'll have a word with Hokage-sama, Naruto." the scar-faced Chunin promised, "I have an idea that might work, but I have to run it past him first."

"Oh. OK." Naruto nodded, "I was wondering what kind of weapons would suit me better."

"Not any polearm weapons." Iruka said immediately, "Nor anything too heavy, like a mace, so spears and the like are out, as are hammers or maces."

"Nodachi fall under long weapons as well." Naruto muttered, "Ditto for Katana…what about a Kodachi or a pair of Tantō?"

Iruka looked thoughtful at that. "You do seem like the kind to get up-close and personal with your enemies, where the tantō blades would do quite a bit of damage…and the Kodachi can be used for when you need a bit of extra reach. Yeah, those three sound like a good investment to make."

"Yosha!" Naruto declared, "Now to start saving up for them! Err…how much do Tantō and Kodachi cost anyway?"

"Well…" Iruka looked thoughtful as they approached Naruto's building, "At an average shop, an ordinary pair of Tantō is about ten-thousand Ryo, with an ordinary Kodachi being about double that. At Higurashi's the stuff is pretty good for only five-hundred Ryo more."

"This might take a while." Naruto concluded, "Well, thanks for your help to- oh for the love of Kami. _Again?!_"

Naruto and Iruka stopped outside Naruto's apartment window, which was, once again, smashed to pieces, with the stench of rotting dog turds wafting out from within.

"Great." Naruto grumbled, "Well, I'd better deal with this. See you tomorrow, Iruka-sensei."

The chunin nodded tightly as he watched his student enter his apartment and close the door quietly. Iruka started towards the Hokage Tower via the rooftops.

He had yet another interesting report to give to the Military Dictator of Konohagakure no Sato, one that he doubted the leader of the village would be happy to receive.

_With Naruto…_

Once he had dealt with the dog crap (again!), Naruto set about repairing the window…again. At the end of it, he levelled up his _**[Glass Cutting] **_Skill to level 28.

"Right…that's that…" Naruto huffed as he dismissed the window and sat down on his crappy sofa, "Now…why the heck did I get such a good break with Higurashi's? Most weapon shops chuck me out as soon as they see me."

Thinking about it, he remembered the _**[Guide]**_ had mentioned something about this kind of thing.

"{Guide}" he commanded, making the desired screen appear in midair before him, "Now lessee here…ah-ha! {Reputation}!"

The box popped up almost immediately, so Naruto started to read the description.

**[Reputation]**

**Your reputation, as mentioned in the introduction, is how you stand with individual people, groups, organisations, towns and countries. The higher your reputation with any of the previously mentioned categories, the better.**

**Reputation is divided into nine levels and each has a bonus or penalty to your interactions with those at that level.**

**At War - Whomsoever bears this level is against you without question. -60% to any reputation gains to people in this group, +10 to all combat-related actions against them.**

**Hated - The bearer of this level despises you for whatever reason. -45% to any reputation gains with people on this level, -30% to [Teamwork] if in the same party.**

**Disliked - People on this level do not like you. At all. -30% to all reputation gains with people on this level, -15% to [Teamwork] if in the same party.**

**Unfriendly - While not against you, this level means that they don't exactly welcome you with open arms either. - 10% to all reputation gains with people on this level, -5% to [Teamwork] if in the same party.**

**Neutral - Not for you, not against you. Hell, people on this level might not even **_**know**_** you. No Buffs or Debuffs at this level.**

**Friendly - People on this level like you. You're a friend. +10% to reputation gains, + 5% to [Teamwork] if in the same party.**

**Well Liked - You're a buddy, you're a pal! +20% to reputation gains, + 10% to [Teamwork] if in the same party.**

**Honoured - You are treated with great respect and friendliness. +25% to reputation gains, +15% to [Teamwork] if in the same party.**

**Exalted - You've reached the top! Utmost love, respect and friendliness at this level. +30% to reputation gains, +20% to [Teamwork] if in the same party, with an additional +10% if the Reputation bar is maxed out.**

**The effects of reputation with shops (filed under organisations) is an increase or decrease in discounts, availability of rare weapons and armour and if they'll serve you or not.**

**You can gain reputation with people by completing quests, saying something they agree with or saving their lives, in extreme situations. Reputation can be lost by failing quests, saying something they disagree with or allowing them to become hurt when you could have prevented it.]**

"Holy shit!" Naruto exclaimed, "This explains a bit, but how do I raise reputation?"

**[For more information, kindly close the Guide and view your actual Reputation Page]**

Impatiently, Naruto closed the _**[Guide]**_ and said aloud, "{Reputation}"

A window popped up fairly quickly, but was occluded rather swiftly by another.

**[Welcome to your Reputation page. On this page, your standing with the rest of the village is displayed. For additional details on that relationship, tap the desired name]**

"OK, got it." Naruto muttered as he got rid of the intro page, "Now Let's see here…"

There were five categories: [Individuals], [Groups], [Organisations], [Towns] and [Countries]. The [Countries] tab was greyed out, as, he presumed, he wasn't known to even Hi no Kuni outside of Konoha yet.

Shrugging, he tapped the [Individuals] tab, making another window appear.

There was a load of greyed out question marks, which meant he didn't know the people who they represented. Almost uniformly, they were labelled as either 'Hated' or 'Disliked', with a smattering of 'Unfriendly' and 'Neutral' here and there.

Moving down the list, it was actually kinda depressing to see how many people 'Hated' him. He stopped scrolling when he came to an actual name that made his heart swell with joy.

**Sarutobi Hiruzen - Honoured (8500/9000)**

"Jiji…" Naruto said softly as he tapped the name of his Honorary Grandfather.

**Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, is Uzumaki Naruto's sponsor at the Konohagakure Shinobi Academy and is something of a surrogate Grandfather to the boy. Naruto's determination to never give up, despite the odds against him, makes Hiruzen just as determined to try and protect him from those who seek to bring him low, frequently clashing with 'upstanding citizens' in order to do so.**

A warm feeling filled Naruto as he read this. He knew that his Jiji cared for him, but this…this just proved it beyond the shadow of a doubt. The blond orphan swore without delay not to give up, no matter what happened to him.

Closing the pop-up screen, Naruto started scrolling down again. One 'Well Liked' only had a question mark for a name, which was confusing. Someone liked him despite Naruto himself not knowing who they were? What was with that?

Further down the screen, he finally discovered his classmates…well, eight of them anyway.

**Haruno Sakura -Unfriendly - 500/2000**

**Hyūga Hinata - Honoured - 3780/9000**

**Nara Shikamaru - Friendly - 1587/2000**

**Akimichi ****Chōji - Friendly - 1487/2000**

**Yamanaka Ino - Neutral - 456/1000**

**Uchiha Sasuke - Unfriendly - 125/2000**

**Inuzuka Kiba - Neutral - 1687/1000**

**Aburame Shino - Neutral - 900/1000**

"What the hell?" Naruto said in surprise. He was expecting Sakura to Dislike him, ditto for Ino, "Hinata…? Oh, the dark-haired weird girl that faints whenever I go near her? How the hell am I 'Honoured' with her?! I've only said maybe two words to her in the last two years!"

Pondering that for a moment, Naruto shook his head before returning to the rest of his classmates. Chōji, Shikamaru and Sasuke were no surprise. He had always gotten on well with the first two and had a kind-of rivalry with the Teme. Kiba was a bit of a surprise. He had thought they were on better terms than that. Shino wasn't a surprise. Naruto had hardly spoken to him any more than Hinata, who still puzzled him.

Shrugging at the mystery of the weird fainting girl, Naruto moved down and spotted two more names he knew.

**Umino Iruka - Well Liked - 3520/4000**

**Toji Mizuki - ?-?-? - 0/10000**

For some reason, he couldn't see his standing with Mizuki, but judging by the fact that he had concealed a look of intense dislike towards Naruto and the seriously high number of points needed to move to the next level compared to the others he'd seen…it was either Exalted or At War and Naruto wasn't naïve enough to hope it was Exalted.

**You have deduced something important. Your WIS goes up by one.**

Ignoring the window that popped up to one side, Naruto watched as Mizuki's entry changed from three question marks to 'At War'. He knew that this meant he could not let himself be alone with the blue-haired teacher as there was no telling what he might do.

Scrolling down further, he spotted Tenten.

**Higurashi Tenten - Friendly- 500/2000**

"Why the heck is someone I've just met so friendly to me?" Naruto wondered as he tapped her name.

**The adopted daughter of Higurashi Tatsuhiko and Kanae, Tenten can sympathise with a fellow orphan well. Being introduced by her old Academy Sensei doesn't hurt either.**

"Huh…guess that makes sense." Naruto nodded. Closing the [Individual] panel, he tapped on the [Organisations] name and started scanning that one.

Sadly, most of the stores, restaurants and café's on the list were almost universally aligned to 'Hated'. The few exceptions stood out like sore thumbs.

**Ichiraku Ramen - Exalted - 10000/10000**

**Konohagakure Shinobi Academy - Neutral - 241/1000**

**Higurashi Weapons and Ninja Apparel - Well-Liked - 1567/4000**

Three stores out of about fifty. Seriously. Ichiraku's wasn't a surprise as he'd been visiting the Ramen stand ever since he was…four? Five? The Academy being Neutral was a surprise, but then again, the chunin-sensei had to keep to high standards to be able to teach and the Hokage kept a very close eye on their activities there, so they inexactly have any choice but to be even-handed with him.

Higurashi's was a surprise as well. Naruto had never even _heard_ of the shop before today, though he vaguely recalled seeing Tenten sometime last year getting picked up by a man who looked like he juggled boulders in his spare time.

Deciding that he had scoped out his reputation enough for one day, Naruto closed the windows and opened his Flaws screen. Time to find out what this game said was wrong about him.

**- Eyesore**

**- Pariah**

**- Headstrong**

As he already knew what the **[Eyesore]** flaw was, and had already taken steps to counter it, he decided to start with **[Pariah]**.

**[Pariah] (Passive)**

**For some reason, the people around you shun and ignore you, almost to the point of you being ostracised.**

**-15% to Reputation Gains with Civilian members of Konohagakure who are aware of why you are a [Pariah].**

**-5% to Reputation Gains with members of the Konohagakure Shinobi Forces who are aware of why you are**

**This Flaw can be removed over time, partially or as a whole, with enough hard work to change the populaces opinion of you by raising your standing with [Konohagakure no Sato] first to Well Liked, then to Exalted.**

"That…sucks ass." Naruto deadpanned. Seriously. He quickly checked his reputation with Konoha as a whole and shook his head.

**Konohagakure no Sato - Disliked - 234/4000**

'_That's going to take forever to do!_' Naruto bemoaned before a look of determination came over his face, '_But Uzumaki Naruto never gives up-Dattebayo!_'

A window popped up just as he finished that thought.

**[Quest Alert]**

**[Note: Long Term]**

**An Uphill Struggle: In order to get your reputation out of the mud, you have to do things for the people of Konoha. Accept Quests; stop pranking people…the works. Only through determined effort can you change the opinions of those around you!**

**Quest Completion Reward: Acceptance by the People of Konoha**

**Quest Failure: Death**

**Accept?**

**[Y/**N**]**

Great. Another Quest that he can't refuse. The fact he will supposedly die if he failed this quest was more than slightly worrisome, but he had no choice in accepting it or not.

Tapping the 'Y' button, Naruto quickly shut the window that talked about _**[Pariah]**_ and opened _**[Headstrong]**_.

**[Headstrong] (Passive)**

**You are stubborn, intractable and hardheaded. Orders are something that happens to other people and advice is only applicable when you have tried to do the same thing over and over again your own way without success.**

**+10% to STA checks**

**-30% to [Teamwork]**

**This Flaw can be removed over time by being more dutiful in following orders and accepting advice offered by teachers and fellow classmates.**

"Oi!" Naruto grumbled, "No one's ever offered me advice…except Jiji and Iruka-sensei…and there are good reasons why I can't do what they say!"

Such as going to the library to study…eating something other than ramen…wearing something that isn't orange…stuff like that! The first is impossible because he's banned from the Library for no reason; the second is because no one else will serve him other that the Ichiraku's and the last is because these jumpsuits were all he could buy from anywhere!

Granted, he was stubborn. Naruto was well aware that he could act like an ornery old mule when he dug his heels in, but there were advantages to being stubborn! Even this Flaw admitted that.

"So…maybe I should be stubborn…without being intractable?" Naruto pondered aloud, "Meh…Maybe."

Closing the two windows, Naruto brought up his Status window and looked over his actual stats first.

**Name: Uzumaki Naruto**

**Class: The Gamer**

**Level: 5 Next Level: 43.87%**

**Title: Academy Student (+25% EXP to LV10)**

**Age: 12**

**HP: 700/700**

**CP: 700/700**

**STR: 13 (-5)**

**STA: 25 (-5, +10)**

**DEX: 13 (-5)**

**INT: 15 (+5)**

**WIS: 10**

**LUK: ?**

"Ok, so my STR, DEX and INT are about average, my WIS is _still_ below average, my LUK is Kami-sama-knows-what and my STA is pretty damn high." Naruto summed his stats up fairly quickly, "Now, why the heck are there minuses next to all my physical stats?"

He tapped the '-5' next to his STR stat and was shocked slightly when a loud chime sounded, followed swiftly by another window popping up.

**[Flaw Discovered!]**

**[Malnourished]**

**[Malnourished] (Passive)**

**Your diet is poor, limited and unhealthy. You are not growing properly and may never reach your full height.**

**- 5 from all physical stats**

**This Flaw can be remedied by eating a varied diet of different foods, rather than a ramen-exclusive diet.**

"…the hell?!" Naruto was beside himself at this. Yes, he ate a lot of ramen, but for it to get to the point that it was affecting his health?

The blond boy sighed. "Not much I can do about it…I'll have to have a think about what I can do…"

Closing the Status window, he then went back to the _**[Guide]**_ and opened the Perks window.

**[Perks]**

**Perks are the opposite of Flaws. They are unique (or semi-unique in some cases) traits and quirks of yours that are separate from your Special Statuses.**

**While most Perks are overwhelmingly positive, they do occasionally come with some demerits. These can be mitigated to some extent, but don't get your hopes up of that actually happening as it is a lot of work to do so.**

**You can gain or lose perks as you go through life and occasionally, weapons or armour will grant you a perk for as long as you have it equipped, although these are exceptionally rare items.**

**For more information on your Perks, please visit your Perks Page.**

"OK, something positive for a change!" Naruto praised. He closed the _**[Guide] **_and opened the _**[Perks]**_ page.

**- Benten's Blessing**

**- Outside the Box**

"Benten? One of the Seven Lucky Gods? Seriously?" Naruto said with a headshake as he tapped the first perk.

**[Benten's Blessing] (Passive)**

**The Goddess Benten has blessed your life. You will go through much hardship, but your luck at gambling, in combat and random rewards is almost like a cheat code.**

**-Passively increases the chance of a rare drop from enemies by 50%**

**-Passively increases your chances of winning at games of chance by 50%**

**-Passively increases your chances of receiving a random reward at the end of a quest by 30%**

**-Passively increases your chance of Random Encounters in Dungeons and Field Dungeons by 50%**

**Warning, this Perk can be lost by giving up on your goals.**

"Uzumaki Naruto doesn't give up, so that ain't happening." Naruto scoffed, "So this is the reason why my LUK stat is a question-mark. Meh. Shit happens."

Closing that window, Naruto then tapped on his only other perk, _**[Outside the Box]**_.

**[Outside the Box] (Passive)**

**Most people have this thing called a box that they use to think in, making them predictable. You do not think like this. You think outside the box, flexibly and from a fresh perspective, although this does have the slight disadvantage of making you less able to use conventional wisdom.**

**+ 50 per Level to [Unconventional Tactics]**

**+20% EXP to [Unconventional Tactics]**

**-30% EXP to [Conventional Tactics]**

**This Perk cannot be lost as it is a part of your way of thinking.**

Well some good news there." Naruto muttered. Really, who would want to think inside a box? Boring!

"Well, that should do it." the blond boy sighed, "Now…to Ichiraku's!"

Naruto ran out to his favourite eatery, deciding to return to reviewing his abilities after his brunch.

**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN**

_Same Time_

_With Iruka, Hokage Tower_

The atmosphere inside the Hokage's Office was so tense that Iruka was certain that he could cut it with a kunai. The face of Sarutobi Hiruzen was as hard as granite as he stared into space.

"So, just to make sure I have all the facts." the Hokage said slowly, "Naruto-kun's apartment has been vandalised at least once a week since he was seven. After the first fifty times, the Landlord forced Naruto-kun to start replacing the window himself, although he did supply proper tools and materials for the repairs, at least.

Now Naruto-kun is at least as skilled at an apprentice Joiner when it comes to putting in a window. In addition, someone, likely the person responsible for smashing his window in the first place, has started throwing decomposing canine excrement into Naruto-kun's apartment as well. Is that an accurate summation?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Iruka replied nervously.

Sarutobi sighed. "I truly have failed Naruto-kun to allow this to go on for so long. Five Years! Well, no more. Neko!"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" the same purple-haired female ANBU from the last time Iruka had been here appeared in the same place as before.

"Set a team to monitoring Naruto-kun's apartment tonight. I want whoever is responsible for this caught."

"I shall see to it myself, Hokage-sama." Neko replied before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

"I must thank you for informing me of this Iruka-kun." Sarutobi said with a small smile, "I suspect that Naruto-kun didn't want to worry me about his situation, although I will have a word with him next Friday about telling me when something like this has been going on."

"It was the right thing to do, Hokage-sama." Iruka said modestly, "I do have another subject to bring up that is related to Naruto."

"Oh?" Sarutobi looked at the chunin and motioned for him to continue.

"Naruto remarked, on our way back to his home, that he couldn't see the point in learning the _**Bunshin no Jutsu**_." Iruka said carefully, "I am forced to agree with him. Any shinobi or fighter of reasonable experience can distinguish illusion from reality. In addition, I have observed him whenever he tries to perform the _**Bunshin**_. It actually makes him flinch in pain to try and perform it."

"Ah…that is because of his vast chakra reserves." Sarutobi nodded, "As an Uzumaki, he is naturally gifted with larger than average chakra reserves, which is compounded by the presence of the Kyūbi within him. He currently has High-Chunin reserves and he still has much growing to do. I suspect he will surpass my own reserves in less than five years. For him to attempt to use the _**Bunshin**_ with the amount of chakra he possesses and the low amount of control he possesses is plain impossible."

"I see…Hokage-sama; I request permission to teach Naruto the Tree Climbing and Water-Walking Exercises." Iruka said formally, "The Academy Chakra Control Exercises are plainly not working for him and he is becoming frustrated with his progress in this area."

"Hmmm….granted." Sarutobi nodded, "I suspect you wish to teach him an alternate _**Bunshin**_ technique as well, correct?"

"Hai. I have reviewed the Graduation rules and they state that a graduate must create at least three _**Bunshin**_ in order to graduate." Iruka replied, "It does not state what _kind_ of _**Bunshin**_, merely **a** _**Bunshin**_."

"I see. Most would agree that the Elemental Clone techniques are not suited for the Graduation Test, but I see no reason why he cannot learn them." Sarutobi mused, "See what his element is and then teach him either the _**Mizu Bunshin (Water Clone) **_or the _**Iwa Bunshin (Earth Clone) **_if he possesses the requisite affinity."

"What if he possesses Fire, Wind or Lightning?" Iruka asked.

"Then he shall have to learn the _**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)**_." the Hokage replied, "With his reserves, that would be easy for him to accomplish. In fact, teach him the _**Kage Bunshin **_even if he has an affinity for Water or Earth."

"Are you sure you want to inflict an army of Naruto on the ANBU?" Iruka asked with a small smile.

"Bah. They are ANBU; they have had training in resisting torture." Sarutobi said cheerfully.

"You are evil, Hokage-sama." three voices accused the Village leader from nowhere.

"Ninja." Sarutobi smirked.

**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN**

_With Naruto_

After a truly gastronomic experience at Ichiraku's, Naruto headed back to his apartment and was pleasantly surprised to discover his window wasn't broken this time.

"Well what do ya know?" Naruto shrugged. He settled down on the lone, rather battered, armchair and decided to view his skills. When he brought the window up, he spotted two skills he had never seen before.

**[The Gamer's Mind] (Passive) [LV MAX]**

**Allows the user to calmly and logically think things through. Allows peaceful state of Mind. Immunity to Psychological Mass Effect.**

**-Immune to Killing Intent from any opponent within twenty levels of yourself.**

**-Immune to fear-inducing or terror-inducing Genjutsu.**

**-Immune to Hypnotism.**

**[The Gamer's Body] (Passive) [LV MAX]**

**Grants the user a body to live life like a video game.**

**-Immune to Physical Damage, but not the pain.**

**-Sleeping in a bed fully restores HP/CP.**

**-Sleeping in a tent restores HP/CP by 75% of total amount.**

**-Sleeping on an improvised surface (a couch, the ground) restores HP/CP by 50% of maximum amount.**

"So…kick…ASS!" Naruto cheered. Now he didn't have to worry about being terrified by reasonably strong people on missions, or people hypnotising him! Better than that, he didn't have to worry about people cutting off his arms or legs!

Scrolling down once he had recovered from his celebration, Naruto spotted the first skill he had made, _**[Detect Bloodthirst]**_. It had, unbeknownst to him, levelled up a few times now.

**[Detect Bloodthirst] (Passive) [Level 5, EXP 23.98]**

**Allows the user to detect any killing intent within a set distance. With increased levels, the exact location of the KI can be determined, as well as the name of the person emitting the KI.**

**Range: 50 meters**

**Chance of Homing in on KI Location: 5%**

"Huh…I wondered what those windows were that kept popping up in the middle of the street." Naruto shrugged. Man, people really glared at him a lot if it's gone up four levels in just a day!

His _**[Shurikenjutsu]**_ and _**[Hikō Yoshin Fast Draw Technique]**_ skills weren't too bad either, but they had only gone up a couple of levels and the bonuses they gave hadn't changed at all.

Naruto frowned as he looked at his skills. Twelve. Twelve skills and only nine of them had anything to do with Shinobi skills. He frowned as he thought about it for a moment. When he had created the _**[Shurikenjutsu]**_ skill, he had known how to do it beforehand, but had been handicapped by having stupid display shuriken instead of proper training shuriken, so the skill had been created immediately.

Closing the windows, Naruto ran through the handsigns for the _**Henge no Jutsu**_. "_**Henge!**_"

He transformed into an exact copy of Iruka, right down to the smallest detail. He transformed into perfect replicas of several other people before the expected window popped up.

**[Skill Created!]**

**[Henge no Jutsu] (Active) [Level MAX]**

**A basic Shinobi skill and one of the 'Academy Three' in all of the Hidden Villages of the Elemental Nations. This Jutsu transforms you into anyone or anything. Unlike most Shinobi, you are able to use it as an actual physical transformation, rather than a mere illusion.**

**10 CP per minute upkeep to use.**

Reverting to his ordinary body, Naruto gaped at the window in astonishment. So…he had created an entirely new jutsu, rather than use the one that the rest of the world used.

Cool.

Next, he grabbed one of his practice logs and performed the _**Kawarimi no Jutsu**_ until he developed that skill as well.

**[Kawarimi no Jutsu] (Active) [Level 75, EXP 54.12]**

**A basic Shinobi skill and one of the 'Academy Three' in all the Hidden Villages of the Elemental Nations. This jutsu allows you to switch places with something in an instant. The higher the level, the smaller the object can be that you replace yourself with. A very high level indeed is required to switch positions with someone with more chakra than yourself.**

**Smallest size of object you can replace yourself with: Jam Jar-size.**

"Again, cool." Naruto grinned. He had practiced those two jutsu quite a bit in the last two years, so it wasn't really a surprise that he had maxed out the _**Henge **_and come damn close with the _**Kawarimi**_.

"That just leaves…the kami-forsaken _**Bunshin**_." he sighed. Running through the three handsigns, Naruto declared dully, "_**Bunshin no Jutsu**_."

In an explosion of smoke, three sickly looking illusion clones appeared before vanishing. A small window appeared after that and the blond read it quickly.

**[Skill Failed!]**

**You have not met the perquisites in order to properly utilise this skill.**

**You require [Chakra Control] 30% of Max CP in order to use this skill.**

**Please try again once you have fulfilled the perquisites.**

Naruto could only stare dumbly at the window. He had to have Chakra control equal to thirty percent of his Chakra Points. That was, at a conservative estimate, something like 210. With his CP going up by a hundred every level, it would be impossible to use that jutsu!

'_Keep calm. Iruka-sensei said he'd have a word with Jiji about this. Things will be fine._' he thought with enforced calm.

Moving past that, Naruto wondered what else he could do. Yesterday, he had run through the kata of the Academy _**Hakage**_ Style and hadn't gained so much as a single experience point, which meant he had to actually fight or spar with someone in order to level his Taijutsu up.

So…what did that leave? He didn't want to practice the _**Kawarimi no Jutsu**_ for too long as that made him dizzy after about an hour, and he had already maxed out the _**Henge no Jutsu**_.

"Wait a minute! What about my stealth and trapping skills?!" Naruto hurriedly checked through his fourteen skills and saw that neither were there.

"Right. Time to remedy that." Naruto cackled, rubbing his hands together as he started planning to execute what would be his last prank for a few months, "Now where did I put the glue and feathers…?"

_Half an Hour Later…_

"Get back here you brat!" howled one of the chunin chasing Naruto. The entire group was covered from head to toe in glue and bright pink feathers that Naruto had found in a box outside his apartment one day.

Naruto was ginning like a Hyena as he led the pack of chunin on quite the merry chase through the streets of Konoha. This had been the best idea yet. He had received both of the skills he had set out to gain _and_ three points to his STR from all the running around.

**[Bloodthirst detected!]**

**Immediately to the left!**

Not questioning the window, Naruto threw himself to the right just in the nick of time as a ninjatō slashed down where Naruto had been running not two seconds ago.

"Ryūto!" one of the feathered pursuers barked sharply, "What the hell do you think you are doing?!"

The man with the ninjatō snarled in a drunken way as he tried to stab Naruto with his blade. He wasn't one of the feathered pursuers. His clothes were filthy and smelt of stale beer and cheap hooch. The only thing that was remotely clean about him was the blade he wielded.

The ninjatō looked as if it had been obsessively and meticulously polished, sharpened, oiled and tended for years. The sharp edge cut through the air with a distinctly high whistle as he chased Naruto along the street.

"Shit! What the hell?!" Naruto yelped as he avoided being shish-kebabed by the sword yet again, the sword glinting in the sunlight as it flashed past Naruto in slow motion from his perspective.

"Ryūto! Stop this at once!" one of the pink feather brigade yelled, "This is ridiculous!"

"Fuck off!" the man bellowed as he clumsily slashed at Naruto again. The blond orphan was very, very glad that he was so lucky as he fled towards the Hokage Tower.

Two back blurs shot over Naruto and a strangled grunt of pain came from the pursuing man. Risking a peek over his shoulder, Naruto could see two ANBU operatives restraining the man.

Deciding that it was time to make like a tree and leaf, Naruto snuck away, deciding to spend the rest of the day trying to create skills…from the safety and sanctity of his apartment.

Just in case.

**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN**

_The Next Day…_

_Final Year Classroom, Konohagakure Shinobi Academy_

Naruto was feeling more than slightly depressed. Why, might you ask? The answer is simple: every single person in the entire damned classroom that was on his Reputation Page was a higher level than he was!

**[Braniac]**

**LV7 - Haruno Sakura**

**[Mindwalker Adept]**

**LV8 - Yamanaka Ino**

**[Emo Avenger]**

**LV12 - Uchiha Sasuke**

**[Lazy Genius]**

**LV9 - Nara Shikamaru**

**[Clan Heir of the Akimichi]**

**LV8 - Akimichi Chōji**

**[Shy Maiden]**

**LV10 - Hyūga Hinata**

**[Silent Watcher]**

**LV10 - Aburame Shino**

**[Aspiring Alpha Male]**

**LV7 - Inuzuka Kiba**

He felt like banging his head off of the wall. How the hell was he going to catch up to them before graduation? He was Level Five, which was one level above most of the civilian-born students. He had a lot of catching up to do.

Much to his lack of surprise, a window popped up in front of him.

**[Welcome!]**

**Welcome to the Konohagakure Shinobi Academy.**

**Here, you will be learning the basics of the basics of the Shinobi Arts. Study hard and you will be rewarded for your hard work.**

**Currently you are in the academic position of [Dead Last]. Should you graduate at this level, you will automatically be assigned to the same team as the two holding the positions of [Rookie of the Year] and [Top Kunoichi].**

"Oh, _hell no_!" Naruto muttered, "I am _not_ going to be assigned to the same team as the Teme, even if Sakura-chan is there too!"

"Oi, Dobe." Sasuke called, "What's with the new clothes?"

Naruto looked down. He was wearing his black Amakusa Style Trousers and Shirt, and his shower had started working properly, so he didn't smell. He hadn't even had to clean up a mess this morning as his window hadn't been smashed.

Discarding his jumpsuits and putting his new wardrobe on had finally gotten rid of the _**[Eyesore]**_ Flaw, which was a big relief for Naruto.

"Meh. Decided it was time for a change, Teme." he replied cockily, "You might wanna consider a new style as well; those little boy shorts of yours make you look like a kid."

"Naruto-baka!" Sakura shouted, "Stop talking to Sasuke-kun like that!"

"C'mon Sakura-chan." Naruto whined, "Even you have to admit that they make him look childish."

"Troublesome." Shikamaru mumbled, "Naruto's right; so please be quiet."

"Shikamaru!" Ino scowled at her childhood friend, "What about Chōji? He wears shorts!"

"Yeah, but now Naruto mentions it, I should be wearing trousers." Chōji spoke up as he munched on chips, "Tou-chan and Kaa-chan have been after me to wear some armour on my legs, so this is as good a time as any to update my stuff. Naruto, where'd you get the duds?"

"Higurashi's." Naruto replied.

"Wow. You like the high-end stuff, don't you?" the rotund boy asked, slightly impressed at Naruto's choice in clothes, "That's where I'll go then."

Another window popped up once the conversation shifted away from Naruto.

**[Congratulations!]**

'**Clothes Make the Man' Quest Complete!**

**Quest Completion Reward: +500 EXP, +30 Academy Shuriken**

**Secret Objective: Impress at least two Classmates with your new threads: Complete!**

**Secret Objective Reward: +200 Reputation with Akimichi Chōji, +200 Reputation with Yamanaka Ino, +200 Reputation with Hyūga Hinata.**

'_Nice!_' Naruto mentally cheered, '_Today Rocks!_'

**CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC**

**Same Time**

**A Cell, ANBU T&I Dept.**

The man secured to the chair before Sarutobi cut a very pathetic figure indeed. Stripped of his clothes and weapon, flanked on both sides by ANBU, he sagged in his bonds, knowing that he was in deep shit.

"Kagami Ryūto." Sarutobi's voice was as cold and unforgiving as glacial ice, "You have been accused of several minor charges in the past, but because of your actions today, I can no longer allow you to remain in Konoha. You deliberately attacked an Academy Student with a weapon, with the intent to kill or maim him. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"He's the demon, not a boy!" the man's hoarse voice said gruffly, "He's helpless, so he should die! My brother's sword thirsts for his blood!"

Sarutobi sighed. Kagami Shinzō had been one of the many chunin who had helped to fight against the Kyūbi twelve years previously. He had fought well, but had been killed by a falling building.

The man before him, Shinzō's brother, had been a Genin at the time, but had quit the Shinobi forces after he had been informed about his brother's death. Since then, he had tried to find solace at the bottom of every sake bottle he could find. As well as every other kind of alcoholic beverage he could lay his hands on.

"I have explained this quite a few times to the Clan Heads." Sarutobi said patiently, "Even if someone killed _Naruto_, the _Kyūbi wouldn't die with him_! You can no more kill it than you could juggle a set of mountains. In a few years, a decade at most, the Kyūbi would reform and likely come back to finish what it started twelve years ago, making your brother's sacrifice worthless!"

"N…No…That…" Ryūto seemed thunderstruck by Sarutobi's words.

"As you attacked Naruto-kun in front of seven chunin, the evidence is more than sufficient for me to find you guilty." Sarutobi said harshly, "I find your reason for attacking an Academy Student insufficient and thus sentence you to the maximum sentence allowed by the law. You are hereby sentenced to a decade in the Konoha Military Police Prison, with no hope of reduced sentence or parole for at least five years. ANBU, make certain he is placed in a Mid-Level Security Cell."

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" the ANBU nodded.

Sarutobi made his way out of the cell and headed for the next one over, to have words with the other person of interest that had been caught by Neko and Saru last night.

"Well now." he said as the culprit writhed in her restraints. He had been surprised that it was a female, but then wondered why he had been surprised. Females could be far more vindictive than males given the right stimulus. "Who do we have here, Tokujō Mitarashi?"

Anko, grinning like she had just been handed a lifetimes supply of dango. "This is a failed Genin Candidate from just after the Kyūbi. She's one of the Haruno Clan, Haruno Isuca."

"What is her relation to Academy Student Haruno Sakura?" Sarutobi questioned.

"Second Cousin. Isuca-chan here was the first member of the Haruno Clan to try and become a Genin, but she didn't make the cut." Anko replied after checking her notes, "Now then, Isuca-chan…care to tell Hokage-sama what he wants to know, or will I have to get…intimately familiar with how you scream?"

"It's a demon!" Isuca bit out as she thrashed in her bonds, "I've been trying to make it give up by harassing it, but the damn demon just won't give up! Who the hell has that kind of determination as a kid?!"

"Naruto-kun does have a way with surprising people with how determined he is." Sarutobi chuckled darkly, "Now, are you working alone or are there cohorts that need to be rounded up?"

"I worked alone!" Isuca snarled.

"Lie." Anko remarked lazily as she backhanded the woman across the face, "Tell the truth or that will seem like a love tap."

"…a member of the Inuzuka Clan got me the dog crap from the waste bins, but he didn't know what it was for." the Haruno woman said shortly.

"Good. That means that the punishment falls squarely on you and the Haruno Clan." Sarutobi said, "That's...let's see now…five years of broken windows, once a week minimum, twice a week on occasion, not to mention several cases of improper disposal of waste. I'm afraid this goes beyond simple vandalism. I will discuss the matter with Naruto-kun and your Clan Head in order to determine the punishment suitable for…an ongoing regime of harassment. For now, you will be taken to a holding cell until such time as your punishment is determined."

The woman scowled at Sarutobi but said nothing.

"Anko, escort her to T&I's holding cells and make sure it's an isolated cell. We don't want people thinking that she's getting off with a slap on the wrists.2

"Gotcha, old man." Anko grinned as she looked down at Haruno Isuca, "She won't be going anywhere…"

Isuca had the feeling that the holding cell couldn't come fast enough.

**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN**

_Two Hours Later_

_With Naruto_

Naruto was bored.

Seriously, he knew he had to raise his grades, but listening to Iruka-sensei drone on about the Ninja Code was very much yawn-worthy.

Staying awake _had_ made his INT go up by two already though, so Naruto, utilising his stubborn willpower, had forced himself to pay attention to the lecture, even although he thought that the Ninja Code was impossible to apply word-for-word in the real world.

He had read books (a fact that had shocked Iruka when he had found out about it) and pinpointed areas where famous historical Shinobi from Konoha had basically ignored the Code completely. Iruka had looked at him oddly when Naruto had pointed these people out before telling him that while, in those instances they had broken the rules, overall they had abided by them, so he still had to learn the rules well, if not by heart.

That hadn't exactly been the point, but Naruto understood that he had to learn them well enough to pass the thrice-accursed written exam for Graduation. Afterwards…meh. Rules were a guideline only in Naruto's opinion.

At length, the bell for lunchtime rang and Naruto quickly found an area of the training yard that was unoccupied, under one of the windows. He had been too spooked by the random attack to review his new skills yesterday, so he quickly called them up.

**[Stealth] (Passive/Active) [LV 65, EXP 56.98]**

**A key skill of any Shinobi, this skill allows you to remain undetected by sight, sound and scent. At higher levels, it allows you to become one with the shadows, making you nigh undetectable to anyone who isn't a Chakra Sensor.**

**-Passively raises Chance to avoid detection by sound by 39%.**

**-Passively raises chance to avoid detection by scent by 39%.**

**-Actively raises chance to avoid detection by sight by 39%.**

**-While active, movement speed reduced by 50%, 20 CP/minute to use.**

**[Traps] (Passive) [LV 60, EXP 54.21]**

**When pursued, laying a trap can be the difference between life or death for you and your team. The higher the level, the more varied traps you can make, as well as the faster you can build them.**

**-Passively adds 30% to Success Ratio of Trap Making.**

**-Passively adds +30% to Trap Building Speed.**

**-Allows the construction of Pranking Traps, Hunting Traps, Basic Snares, and Bladed Traps (Requires materials to build. See Trap Recipes for details).**

Naruto had reviewed the recipes and the first intermediate Bladed Trap he saw made him shiver to think about inflicting it on someone. Some things were _just not done_. Especially to men.

**[Bloodthirst Detected!]**

**Above you!**

Naruto rolled to one side as soon as he saw the message, just in time to avoid a vase full of flowers that had fallen from the window above him. Mizuki had a surprised expression on his face as he saw that Naruto had avoided being brained by the vase.

'_Lick of the devil!_' the man snarled in his mind as he stalked off.

**[Detect Bloodthirst] has levelled up!**

"Yeah…great." Naruto muttered. Now he was going to have to make sure he was careful around windows, door, stairs and the like just in case Mizuki was lurking around them.

On the bright side, his Skills had saved him a headache from getting clonked on the head by the vase.

"NARUTO!" Iruka shouted, his head swelling up as he instinctively used the Big-Head Jutsu as he stalked across the Training Field, "PICK UP THOSE FLOWERS!"

"Mizuki-sensei was the one who knocked them over, not me!" Naruto defended himself.

On the downside, he was still getting blamed for things that weren't his fault. Great.

**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN**

**Next Chapter: Training Daze**

**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN**


	4. Training Daze

**Author's Note: Yo. Chapter Four Here.**

**Well, the Poll ended and, what a conundrum, there was a tie for second place. I decided that they both got a load of votes, so both are in. Therefore, the list of girls in Naruto's harem is as follows:**

**Hinata-90 Votes (Seriously!)**

**Ino -53 Votes**

**Samui-53 Votes**

**Fū-50 Votes**

**Shion-46 Votes**

**Sakura-In on my will.**

**Tenten-In on my will.**

**Should have known better than to out Hinata's inclusion in as a choice…meh. Next time I write a Naruto story, no Hinata as a romance option.**

**Can I just say how surprised I am that this is such a popular Fic? It took me by surprise, so just to say thanks to everyone who reads this story.**

**I have a couple of Challenges to give out this time. PM me to accept either of them.**

**First is a Code Geass/Gamer Fic, which hasn't been done to the best of my knowledge. A Lulu/Kallen or Lulu/Kallen/C.C. ship.**

**Secondly, a Sekirei/Gamer Fic, which has only one that I am aware of and that is a Naruto/Sekirei/Gamer crossover. Ship is Minato x His Flock.**

**Read, Review and Check Out my other stories!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own either Naruto or The Gamer.**

"Sakura-chan!" - Regular Speech

'_Baka!_' - Thoughts

_:Shannaro!:_ - Inner Sakura

**[Quest Announcement]** - Gamer Ability/Notification

**Chapter 4: Training Daze**

_After Classes_

_Training Field, Konohagakure Shinobi Academy_

It was a rather pouting Naruto who stood in front of Iruka after the Academy was over for the day. He didn't like the fact that he had been punished for something that Mizuki-sensei had done.

"Why the pout, Naruto?" Iruka asked.

"It was Mizuki-sensei who pushed the vase over and broke it." Naruto grumbled, "It almost brained me -'ttebayo."

Iruka smiled. "I know Naruto, but I just needed the excuse to put you in 'detention' so I could train you in the _**Bunshin no Jutsu **_alternatives, as authorised by Hokage-sama."

This cheered Naruto up immensely. "Yatta! I knew Jiji would come through for me!"

"Naruto, you should show the Hokage more respect than that." Iruka chided him mildly.

"He's been my Jiji to me longer than he's been the Hokage." Naruto replied, "He was the old man in a funny hat that helped me out when the Orphanage got tough on me. It's kinda hard to break the habit. Besides, I think he likes being called Jiji."

Iruka conceded both of Naruto's points. If the Hokage wanted to make Naruto stop calling him 'Jiji', he would have done so a long time ago.

"OK, moving on to the lesson…" Iruka reached into a pocket on his Chunin's Vest and pulled out a small square of paper, which he then handed to Naruto.

"Eh? What's this?" Naruto asked as he inspected the paper dubiously.

"This, my student, is chakra paper." Iruka replied as he went into lecture mode, "As you may remember from your classes, a Shinobi can use all kinds of Ninjutsu, but with the elemental Ninjutsu, most Shinobi tend to have elemental affinities. This means that there are jutsu you will naturally find easier to use and consume less chakra to use."

"OK. Cool." Naruto commented, "So…what does this have to do with my problem with the Bunshin no Jutsu?"

"I'm getting to that." Iruka replied, "There are a considerable number of _**Bunshin no Jutsu**_ in the world, of which the illusory _**Bunshin**_ is the least useful, but easiest to learn…for most people. More chakra intensive clone techniques exist, of which the most basic are elemental clones, the _**Mizu Bunshin**_ and _**Iwa Bunshin**_. If your affinity matches up, I'll teach you how to use them."

"Alright! What do I do, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked excitedly. Finally, a way for him to learn a Clone Jutsu that didn't come out looking like he was dying!

"Channel Chakra -a small amount only!- into the paper." Iruka directed him, "If it crinkles, you are a lightning affinity. If it gets wet, you are a water affinity. If it crumbles, you are an earth affinity. If it catches fire, you are a fire affinity, and if it is cut, you have a wind affinity."

"Yosha! Let's go!" Naruto declared and then carefully channelled some of his chakra into the strip of paper, which did two things. First, it cut in half, and then both halves crumbled slightly.

"A Primary Wind affinity, with a weak Earth Sub affinity." Iruka said with a nod, "A good combination of elements."

"Why's that Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Wind is a rare element in Konoha. Heck, it's a rare element in the entire world." Iruka explained, "It is known as the War Element as it is able to attack and defend with equal ease, at the same time even. The downside is that it takes a lot of training to master this element."

"That sounds kick ass!" Naruto said excitedly.

"It is, rather." Iruka replied with a smile, "Earth, on the other hand, offers incredible defensive capabilities, allowing you to reshape the landscape to suit you, set traps hidden beneath the surface and even some pretty nice offensive techniques as well. It is also one of the easiest elements to learn."

"Why's that?" Naruto asked with a confused look on his face.

"Earth is solid, unchanging and only moves slowly." Iruka explained, "It doesn't change much by nature and is thus easy to control. Wind is constantly shifting, changing and taking different forms, which is why it is so hard to use."

"Huh…I've never thought about it like that." Naruto remarked, "Anyway, I have an Earth Affinity, so are you gonna teach me the _**Iwa Bunshin**_?"

"Yep." Iruka nodded, "Now let's see…what the…?"

He began searching his pockets and pouches for something before sighing in exasperation.

"Somehow, I seem to have misplaced the scroll for the _**Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu**_." Iruka said in resignation, "I'll have to go off to the Shinobi section of the library and see if I left it there. While I'm gone, you can learn the Tree Climbing Exercise."

"How will climbing trees help me?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Without your hands. Watch." Iruka went over to the Academy building and made the Ram Handsign before, much to Naruto's amazement, walking straight up the wall to thee top of the building and back down to the ground.

"So cool!" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes shining in amazement.

"Learning Tree Climbing is one of the things that your Jonin-sensei usually teaches you after graduation, as Tenten said." Iruka went into lecture mode again, "Your feet are the hardest part of your body to channel chakra to, and so if you can channel chakra there, you can channel chakra anywhere on your body. In addition, it slightly builds your reserves up while doing it."

Iruka led Naruto to a tree and passed him a kunai. "Climb one of these trees and use the Kunai to mark your progress." the scar-faced Chunin directed his student, "Keep your mind clear and do not get frustrated. As I taught you with sealing items in scrolls, experiment with how much chakra to use on each foot. Too little and you'll slide off, too much and you'll be pushed away from the tree."

"Gotcha Iruka-sensei." Naruto nodded with a grin.

With a final admonishment to work hard, Iruka vanished in a puff of Chakra smoke.

"Now then…" Naruto turned his attention to the skill creation windows he had been ignoring while Iruka-sensei had been talking to him.

**[Skill Created!]**

**[Natural Primary Wind Affinity] (Passive) [LV 1, 00.00 EXP]**

**The affinity of Wind is rare in the Elemental Nations, although more are born in Kaze no Kuni than anywhere else. Even those who possess the affinity rarely train it because of the sheer difficulty in mastering it compared to other elements. For those with the determination and perseverance to master it however, the Wind Element can be a weapon of unparalleled power and subtlety.**

**Strong against: Lightning.**

**Weak against: Fire.**

**-Passively reduces the amount of chakra for ****Fūton Jutsu by 1%.**

**-Passively increases the effectiveness of ****Fūton Jutsu by 1%.**

**[Skill Created!]**

**[Secondary Earth Affinity] (Passive) [LV 1, 00.00 EXP]**

**Earth affinities are not uncommon in the Elemental Nations, although Ishi no Kuni and Tsuchi no Kuni are the ones who have more born there than any other country. Earth Ninjutsu is seen as primarily a element of defence, but in the right hands one can make traps, launch counterattacks and even alter the landscape itself.**

**Strong against: Fire, Water.**

**Weak against: Lightning, Wind.**

**-Passively decreases the chakra cost of Doton Jutsu by 1%.**

**-Passively increases the effectiveness of Doton Jutsu by 1%.**

"Kick ass." Naruto smirked before spotting the quest window that floated to one side.

**[Quest Alert!]**

**Climb to the Top: Iruka-sensei has given you the task of attempting the Tree Climbing Exercise. Do your best to fulfil his expectations!**

**Quest Objective: Reach Level 2 of the Tree Climbing Exercise before Iruka-sensei returns.**

**Quest Completion Reward: + 500 EXP, Doton: Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu Scroll, +100 Reputation with Umino Iruka**

**Quest Failure: Doton: Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu Scroll**

**Accept?**

**[Y/**N**]**

"Another Quest that I can't ignore. Meh." Naruto shrugged as he tapped the 'Y' button. He was going to do this anyway, so the reward was just icing on the cake.

Placing one foot on the nearest tree, Naruto made the Ram handsign as Iruka-sensei had done and started channelling a trickle of chakra to his foot, which actually seemed to resist the energy. Gradually and carefully raising the amount of chakra he sent into his foot, he stopped when his foot adhered to the tree bark.

'_OK, that's about a quarter of what I use for my improved version of the __**Henge no Jutsu**_. _Now for the other foot…_' Naruto thought. Quickly reproducing the same amount of chakra in his other foot before placing it on the tree, Naruto then started running up the tree…only to fall off after two steps.

"What the hell?!" Naruto yelped as he fell on his butt, "Dammit! Let's try that again…"

It took more than a few false starts, but eventually, Naruto managed to run up the tree for a few steps before falling down again. After a few repetitions of this, he finally created the skill.

**[Skill Created!]**

**As a result of repeated actions, you have created the [Tree Climbing] Skill.**

**[Tree Climbing] (Passive/Active) [LV 1, 23.99]**

**The Tree Climbing exercise is one of the first chakra control exercises a fresh Genin learns after graduation from the Academy. Fulfilling several roles, this training exercise is the forerunner of the more difficult Water Walking Exercise, as well as laying the foundation for the Tree Jumping Skill.**

**-Passively increases Chakra Control by 1%.**

**-Passively raises CP by 1%.**

**-Actively allows the user to stick to any solid surface that is not a chakra repellent. Costs 15 CP/minute.**

"Yatta!" Naruto cheered, "Now to start building this skill up!"

Apparently, Iruka-sensei wasn't kidding about negative feelings dragging him down; what he had neglected to tell Naruto was that feeling confident actually helped him do better at it! The blond orphan was giving thanks that, for whatever reason, he had monstrous stamina.

'_Stamina 35 for the win!_' Naruto thought as he finally managed to get halfway up the tree. He noted the half-a-dozen or so windows that floated around him all bearing similar messages.

**Feel the Burn, Burn the Feeling! Your STR had gone up by 1!**

**Keep on Keeping on! Your STA has gone up by 1!**

Three each, so his already impressive STA was at 38 now, while his STR was at about eighteen or nineteen. At this rate, he would go all the way up to STA 40 before he levelled up!

Speaking of which…

**[Tree Climbing] has levelled up! Level 1-2.**

"Hell yeah!" Naruto grinned, "Let's see how far I can get it before Iruka-sensei get's back!"

This was typical of Naruto. He saw people who did just enough and no more than that as boring, un-ambitious, idiots. When he had the choice, he always tried to exceed expectations.

When Iruka _**Shunshin'd**_ back into the clearing, Naruto was still going strong and had just managed to get to Level 3 in _**[Tree Climbing]**_.

"Naruto, you can stop now." Iruka called in amusement. He could tell that the excitable boy hadn't stopped since he had started, yet he was barely winded.

"How'd I do?" Naruto asked with a slight bit of smugness as he waltzed down the tree, only slipping part of the way down.

"Not bad for an hour's work." Iruka said approvingly, "Sorry it took so long; _somebody_ tried to book out all the copies of the _**Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu**_ and I had to do mete out some…_educational guidance _to sort things out."

Naruto shivered at the cold tone that his favourite teacher had taken. If he had to guess, the boy would say that whoever had gotten on Iruka's bad side, not something Naruto had ever aspired to do.

"Well, at least you managed to get a copy." Naruto said with a cheerfulness he didn't really feel. Someone was trying to get in his way, _again_! How the _hell_ did these people get their information? He had only asked Iruka-sensei about an alternative to the _**Bunshin**_ yesterday!

"I did. Here you go Naruto." Iruka handed him a scroll that was lined with brown lines.

**[Congratulations!]**

'**Climb to the Top' Quest Completed! You have successfully reached Level Two of [Tree Climbing] before Iruka returned!**

**Quest Completion Reward: +500 EXP, 'Doton: Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu' Scroll, +100 Reputation with Umino Iruka.**

Naruto subtly closed the window as he grinned at the scroll. He was just about to open it when an ANBU wearing a cat mask _**Shunshin'd**_ into the training field in a swirl of leaves.

"Uzumaki Naruto, the Hokage requests your presence at once." the masked Shinobi stated, "Please accompany me to the Hokage Tower."

"In the middle of after school detention?" Iruka asked with a frown, "Hokage-sama arranged the materials to be taught here himself. What could need Naruto's immediate presence, Neko-san?"

"I am sorry, Umino-san, but something…disturbing has occurred that requires Uzumaki-san's presence." the ANBU replied, "Rest assured, it will not take long to resolve, but it does require haste to do so."

"OK then." Iruka sighed, "Off you go with Neko-san."

Naruto nodded and walked over to the ANBU, who grabbed his shoulder and vanished with him in another swirl of leaves.

The feeling of being carried along in a _**Shunshin**_ was…surprisingly unpleasant. Naruto felt himself move at fast speeds, faster than he could run, and he developed tunnel vision from that. By the time he and the ANBU materialised in front of the Hokage Tower, he had made a note to work on his awareness so that didn't happen again.

"Are you alright, Uzumaki-san?" Neko asked, "Side-Along _**Shunshin's**_ are more turbulent than regular ones."

"Yeah…I'm good." Naruto replied as his stomach churned slightly, "I think I'll walk next time though."

"Understandable." Neko nodded, "Now, let's get you to Hokage-sama."

_In the Hokage's Office…_

Sarutobi Hiruzen rubbed his eyes tiredly as he waited for Naruto to show up. This would not be a pleasant talk for the boy.

Sitting in a pair of chairs were members of the Konoha Regular Police, the only police force left in Konoha after the Uchiha Massacre. Made up of civilians with bare bones training in subduing other civilians, they had been overshadowed by the Uchiha Military Police and had tried to replace them, only to be shot down rather firmly by Sarutobi.

Several 'prominent and concerned citizens' pretty much controlled the Regular Police and he knew that almost all of them hated Naruto for what he carried within him. Today was merely another expression of that hatred.

"Jiji!" Naruto called as he entered, "Ready to turn the hat over to me yet?"

"Ohohoho." Sarutobi chuckled, "Sadly no, Naruto-kun. Take a seat. These two…gentlemen have some unpleasant news for you."

Naruto threw a quizzical look at the two men as he sat down. They were very ordinary-looking people, utterly forgettable faces, average height and the like. They wore the brown and green uniforms of the Regular Police and carried the Jutte of their rank from a hoop on their belts.

"Uzumaki-san." one of the officer's said, a badly-concealed sneer concealed in his words, "I regret to inform you that someone has broken into your apartment and vandalised it."

"Again?" Naruto sighed, "How badly vandalised is it?"

"Every piece of furniture has been smashed to kindling, every wall has rude expletives carved or painted onto their surfaces, all books and scrolls have been urinated upon and every door and window in the apartment has been smashed as well." the other man recited, "Whoever carried this out was very thorough."

"Aw man!" Naruto groaned, "My landlord is gonna be _pissed_ at me for this!"

"Indeed he is, Uzumaki-san." the first man said. He pulled a piece of paper from his pouch and handed it to Naruto, "This is a notice of eviction from your Landlord, effective immediately."

"What?!" Naruto yelped, "Aw man…"

"Naruto-kun, do you have your wallet?" Sarutobi asked, "The police claim it wasn't in the wreckage."

"Gama-chan never goes more than a hands length away from me!" Naruto said as he pulled the toad-design wallet from his pocket.

"Good. That's something at least." Sarutobi nodded before turning his attention to the policemen, "Find out who did this or I'll have a new Military Police Force set up within the next month. Understood?"

"H-Hai, Hokage-sama." the apparent senior man replied shakily before leading his fellow policeman out of the door.

Almost immediately, Naruto's cheerful façade sagged slightly as he leaned back in the chair with another sigh.

"I'll have to go back to the apartment to check if my hidden stash of books and scrolls is among the ruined books." he grumbled.

"Neko, go to Naruto-kun's former apartment and search it for any hidden books or scrolls." Sarutobi ordered, "If you can, try and determine how many people conducted such…disgraceful actions against Naruto-kun."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I'll depart at once." Neko replied from her hidden position, making Naruto start. He hadn't noticed her entering the room at all. Mentally, he upped his respect for ANBU-level stealth techniques.

"Now then Naruto-kun, this presents me with something of a dilemma, as all rentable accommodations in Konoha have registered a disinclination to rent property to prospective tenants who are victims of a campaign of vandalism and discrimination." Sarutobi said with a sigh.

The actual phrasing of the Landlords Union was 'That Demon Brat isn't getting into our houses!', but Sarutobi saw no reason to tell this to Naruto.

"I can always camp out, Jiji." Naruto suggested, "It would be good practice for fieldwork once I graduate."

Sarutobi blinked at that. Naruto did make a good point, but he was not about to send his surrogate grandson out to a field to pitch a tent if he had any say in the matter.

"An admirable suggestion Naruto-kun, but I believe several of my ANBU would object to such an arrangement, as well as myself." Sarutobi replied diffidently, "As it so happens, there is a block of apartments in my possession that is suited to your needs, but it has not been lived in in a considerable length of time, so it will have to be cleaned first."

"Whereabouts is it?" Naruto asked.

"It's on the edge of the Clan District." Sarutobi replied.

"Oh, you mean the former ANBU HQ." Naruto nodded, prompting three jaws to drop in reaction as Sarutobi and the two remaining ANBU took this in.

"Naruto-kun…do tell how you know that." Sarutobi asked carefully once he had re-attached his jaw.

"It was a secret?" Naruto raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Most people in Konoha can tell where ANBU HQ is by the large amount of suspiciously polite, but firm guards saying 'private residence only' to anybody who goes close to the building despite the 'apartments for rent' sign outside the door."

Sarutobi felt like bashing his head against the oaken surface of his desk at this. "I'll have a word with ANBU Commander Saru about a less obvious cover story. To return to the point, will that building suffice for you?"

"Wait…I get the run of the building?" Naruto asked.

"As nobody lives there, not even a building supervisor, yes." Sarutobi replied, "I have a cleaning crew making the building habitable as we speak, but it will not be ready for a couple of hours."

"Oh. OK." Naruto nodded, "That gives me time to learn the _**Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu**_."

"So you have an Earth Affinity?" the old man enquired.

"I'm actually a Primary Wind Affinity, Sub Earth Affinity." Naruto replied.

"A good pair of elements." Sarutobi approved, "Iruka-kun told me you are thinking about buying weapons after graduation?"

"Yeah…a pair of tantō and a kodachi." Naruto replied, "It's going to cost a lot to buy them though. I just hope I'm not on the same team as Sasuke-teme after graduation."

"Oh?" Sarutobi invited Naruto to continue.

"Sasuke-teme doesn't like me much and I don't really like him all that much either." Naruto explained, "And if we're on the same team, we won't get along very well, meaning our Jonin-sensei will probably stick to D-Ranks until we get out teamwork up to scratch…which is to say, never, so It'll take forever to save up enough to buy a half-decent set of weapons."

The Hokage nodded in acknowledgement of his surrogate grandson's point. Teamwork was strongly emphasised throughout the entirety of the Academy and Naruto was far from stupid. He was a bit slow on the uptake sometimes, but he was more than able to put two and two together.

The sad thing was that, regardless of academic standings, Naruto was highly likely to be put on the same team as Sasuke. The Ino-Shika-Chō were to be reformed in this generation by the three Clan Heirs. A tracking team was to be formed comprised of the Heirs of the Hyūga, Aburame and Inuzuka, leaving Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Sakura and Naruto as a Heavy Assault team. No other teams were expected to pass the _real_ Genin test.

"We'll see how thing pan out at graduation." the Hokage said aloud, "Things are not set in stone as of yet, so do your best and I will be willing to hear who you would like to be teamed up with, as well as the reasons why."

"Eh?" Naruto looked confused.

Sarutobi decided to elaborate. "When graduation rolls around, the Academy Sensei sends me a list of proposed teams based on compatible abilities and skills. I am also required to consider requests from the parents of students for specific team assignments." he explained, "I then gather the Jonin-sensei and I have to hear requests from _them_ for specific students they might wish to have included on their teams. The entire thing is a then a question of compromise between Academy scores, parental requests, the Jonin-sensei requests as well as reality."

"Reality?" Naruto frowned.

"Do you know a tradition about what happens with the Rookie of the Year, Top Kunoichi and Dead Last?" Sarutobi asked.

"They're put on a team." Naruto scowled, "I'm the Dobe, Sakura-chan is the Top Kunoichi and Sasuke-teme is the Rookie of the Year."

"How did you find out about that?" the old man asked curiously. It wasn't exactly a _secret_ per se, but it was usually concealed from Academy Students so they couldn't fudge their scores to get on or off a specific team.

"I heard about it." Naruto shrugged, "The civilians were talking about who 'Uchiha-sama' would be teamed up with."

Not for the first time, the Sandaime felt like throttling the civilians who had loose lips.

"Well then, now that you know about it, let us explore the reason for it." the Hokage sighed, "The original reason the tradition was started was so that the two students who excelled could help bring up the skills of the Dead Last. Over the years, it was instituted as a immutable facet of the Graduation process, which is a ridiculous thing to do."

"I can see why it was done the first time, but why as it made a permanent arrangement?" Naruto frowned as he considered it.

"Because it proved to be an effective setup, at first anyway." Sarutobi replied, "The first dozen years produced very good shinobi that went on to advance to chunin and then Jonin. After that…the wars interfered. People died too soon, before they had a chance to prove themselves or learn more. The entire system was ultimately proven to work…by me."

"Huh?" Naruto looked confused.

"My students…Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraya…the so-called 'Densetsu no Sannin' were the most powerful shinobi of their generation." Sarutobi explained, "They were strong enough, together, to hold off Sanshōuo no Hanzō (Hanzō the Salamander), an S-Rank Shinobi from Amegakure once they reached Jonin. Whenever I try to abolish the tradition, the Academy points to them as a defence against it, despite Orochimaru's subsequent descent into insanity and betrayal."

"Wow…" The look of amazement on Naruto's face was utterly unfeigned.

"To apply 'reality' to this situation, it is very rare that three Shinobi of such potential are put on the same team, so it is actually a very silly tradition to keep up." Sarutobi continued, "Moreover, you and Sasuke do not get along. What about Haruno Sakura? What do you think will happen if she is added to the mix as she is now?"

Naruto knew he was being asked for an honest opinion of her, leaving his crush aside. "Sakura-chan will likely Fangirl over Sasuke and put me down, hoping to gain Sasuke's approval." he said reluctantly. He liked Sakura, but knew how she would act. He wasn't blind to her faults.

"I agree that it's a likely scenario." Sarutobi nodded, "Now think about how teamwork will suffer with that kind of group dynamic. Not a pleasant scenario, is it?"

"I have got to get my grades up!" Naruto moaned.

"On occasion, the grade angle is ignored in favour of balance." Sarutobi sighed, "You may not have noticed, but it is rare that the Rookie of the Year, Top Kunoichi and Dead Last are wholly of Shinobi or Civilian origin. Still, the consensus is to group those from Shinobi Clans together as they are generally superior to those from civilian families. There are exceptions, such as Jiraya, Higurashi Tenten and Rock Lee."

"I've met Tenten." Naruto nodded, "She did mention someone called Lee. Isn't he the one who was given an exemption to graduate despite the fact he can't use nin- or genjutsu?"

Sarutobi noticed the slightly bitter way Naruto said that and internally winced. Aloud he said, "Yes. He is an exceptional Taijutsu user, just as Tenten is well on her way to being an expert Weapon Mistress, with nigh-unparalleled skill with Shurikenjutsu. Jiraya is one of the most powerful Shinobi on active duty at the moment and was the person who taught the Yondaime Hokage all he knew. So you see, there is no bias against civilians in Konoha; just a bias against anyone who doesn't pull their own weight."

"I…see." Naruto didn't understand everything, but he gathered the fact that his Jiji was giving him a lesson and strove to try and understand it, "What are you suggesting, Jiji?"

"As she is right now, Haruno Sakura is a genjutsu/med-nin candidate." Sarutobi sighed, "That is, if she lives past her first C-Rank, which is unlikely at the moment. Reading between the lines of the Academy reports, her Taijutsu is just barely sufficient, her Shurikenjutsu is adequate and her skill with Genjutsu is impressive. Her chakra reserves are small and she continues to 'diet', reducing her physical energy compared to her mental energy. This also means she tires easily and thus cannot train for extended periods of time."

Naruto was taken aback. Why was the Hokage sharing this with him?

"Because I have a solution to this problem and I need your help to execute it." The Hokage replied when he voiced this question, "Despite her current issues, Haruno Sakura is someone who has the potential to be great. A Genjutsu Mistress, a great Med-Nin, Infiltration…there are many possibilities as to what she could be. Are you willing to help me help her?"

"Of course." Naruto nodded. After all his Jiji had done for him, if he could repay him, all he had to do was ask. He saw several small windows appear out of the corner of his eye, but as none of them were a quest window, ignored them for now.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Sarutobi said with a glimmer of pride in his eyes, "Now, the situation is this; the person who was responsible for smashing your former apartment's window since you were seven was a member of the Haruno Clan, Haruno Isuca, who is Haruno Sakura's second cousin. Tomorrow after the Academy, you will be called for a meeting with me, as well as Haruno Mebuki and Sakura in order to resolve the issue. This is what I would like you to do…"

Sarutobi outlined his plan and then asked if that would be alright with him.

"Do you think they'll accept it?" Naruto asked doubtfully.

"Mebuki is not stupid." Sarutobi snorted, "For one of her blood-relatives to be caught doing this kind of petty crime is a deeply shameful thing. She will allow it so long as the matter goes no further than this and the matter is buried in the depths of the bureaucracy."

"OK then. I'll help you out, Jiji." Naruto grinned then forced himself not to jump as Neko appeared from nowhere with a cardboard box tucked under one arm.

"Hokage-sama, I discovered this box in a secret panel behind where Uzumaki-san's dresser used to be." the ANBU operative reported as she handed the box to Naruto, "In addition, I would estimate that at least three people were responsible for the destruction of Uzumaki-san's property, although there is no clue as to who they were other than the urine on the decoy books Uzumaki-san left out."

"Decoys?" Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at Naruto at this.

"My place has been broken into a couple of times before." Naruto replied uncomfortably, "After the first time, I carved the secret panel out so whenever I left the apartment, no one other than an ANBU or a very thorough searcher could find anything I hid in it."

Naruto opened the box to reveal his academy textbooks, a couple of photos of him when he was younger with the Hokage at Ichiraku's, as well as the book on Intermediate _**Hakage**_ Taijutsu that he had been given by Iruka.

"I don't suppose my new clothes were spared?" Naruto asked Neko, who shook her masked head.

"All your jumpsuits and new purchases were shredded to pieces." the ANBU replied, "I am sorry, Uzumaki-san."

"It's OK." Naruto sighed, "I'll just have to wash the set I have on every day…wait, let me guess; my appliances are either stolen or broken beyond repair?"

"An accurate guess, Uzumaki-san." Neko replied, "There looked to have been gratuitous use of a crowbar or some similar blunt object. All have been smashed beyond reasonable repair."

Sarutobi felt a growing anger at whomsoever had perpetrated this crime and resolved to put an ANBU team onto investigating it as soon as was feasible.

"I do believe this revelation upgrades Naruto-kun's status to critical." he said aloud, "Neko, kindly inform the work crew at the former ANBU HQ that household appliances will also be required. Naruto-kun, I'll give you some money as emergency funds so you can buy some more clothes."

"You don't have to do this for me Jiji." Naruto protested as the ANBU vanished again, "I can handle myself!"

"I do actually; it is under the guidelines for Guardians of Orphans." Sarutobi replied, "Even if it wasn't required, I'd still do it because I want you to be happy. I want you to be able to at least relax at home, if nowhere else. Moving you into the former ANBU HQ will help with that as it is still watched by a team of ANBU to make sure no one attempts to enter it to find secrets that might have been left behind after the HQ was moved."

"Jiji…" Naruto smiled at his surrogate grandfather, "Thank you."

**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN**

_Two Hours Later_

_Amekage Apartments_

"This…is a odd set of apartments." Iruka deadpanned. He and Naruto were standing outside the blond orphan's new home with scrolls full of new clothes, food and other basic daily accessories secreted about their persons.

The Academy teacher had been furious when Naruto had told him what had happened to his home and was really tempted to 'aid the police in their investigation', but he managed to reign himself in and help Naruto with his shopping instead.

Their trip to Higurashi's was interesting. Tenten had just shaken her head when Naruto what had happened to his home and clothes before helping him pick out a rather nice wardrobe. He had also updated his address with her so she knew where to deliver his shoulder plate once her father returned from his trip.

It had made Iruka quake with fury when Naruto had had to use the _**Henge**_ in order to enter a grocery store without being thrown out, although the part of him that was a teacher appraised the skill with which Naruto used the basic jutsu.

Now the teacher and student pair were eyeing the building that was Naruto's new home, and they were not all that impressed. The building was about the average height for an apartment building in Konoha and was a dirty grey colour. It was run down, dirty and the sign above the door had been plundered of a few letters.

"How much do you think orange paint is, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked thoughtfully.

"No. Just no." Iruka said flatly, "You are not painting this building orange. It's against the building codes."

Naruto just looked at the teacher with an expression that screamed 'Bullshit!'

"Well…it isn't technically against regulations, but loud colours are 'strongly and strictly advised against.'" Iruka relented, "Anyway, where is your apartment in this place?"

"Same place as my old place; right at the top." Naruto replied and led his sensei into the building. The interior was better than the exterior, but not by much. The carpets in the corridors were worn, the wallpaper peeling off in places and there was a slight smell of neglect in the air that made the pair's noses wrinkle in disgust.

"I really hope that the apartment is in better condition than the corridors are." Iruka remarked as they climbed the stairs.

"Jiji said he had people cleaning my new place up as we spoke." Naruto pointed out, "That was over two hours ago. I think the apartment is probably alright, Iruka-sensei."

At length, they reached the door of Naruto's new apartment and unlocked it. The two were very surprised to see the wooden floor of the central corridor gleaming like it had been freshly polished. The wallpaper, a plain cream colour, was brand new and the sweet smell of sandalwood tickled Naruto's nose.

"This is promising." he remarked to his sensei, who nodded.

Both of them were impressed by the flat as they toured the place. It was slightly larger than Naruto's old place and all of the furnishings were brand new and of high quality. The cooker, washing machine and rice cooker were also brand new and the cupboards were stuffed full of food and water.

"I think we're good, don't you think?" Naruto asked with a smirk.

"It's a good thing I didn't bet against you." Iruka remarked with a sigh.

"Benten likes me." Naruto agreed.

_An Hour Later…_

After Iruka left, Naruto sat down and read the windows that had popped up while he had been talking with his Jiji. About three of them were the same.

**You diligently paid attention to the Hokage's lecture! Your WIS has gone up by 1!**

"Damn. Looks like listening to Jiji is just as good as going to class." Naruto whistled, "Now, what are these ones…"

**You have impressed the Hokage with your analysis of team dynamics and personality analysis! +100 Reputation with Sarutobi Hiruzen!**

**You have impressed the Hokage with your willingness to aid your fellow classmates! +100 Reputation with Sarutobi Hiruzen!**

Huh…not bad." he nodded before turning to the quest notification window that had popped up as soon as he closed the last of the other notifications.

**[Quest Alert!]**

**Tending the Cherry Blossom: Haruno Sakura is an Uchiha Fangirl and is gravely neglecting her training. You have been given the chance to bring her to her senses and set her on the path of being a real Kunoichi.**

**Quest Objective: Persuade Haruno Sakura and Haruno Mebuki to start Sakura down the path of a proper Kunoichi.**

**Quest Completion Reward: +1000 EXP, +750 Reputation with Haruno Sakura, + 2000 Ryo.**

**Quest Failure: +500 EXP.**

**Accept?**

**[Y/N]**

"Like I'm going to refuse?" Naruto grumbled as he hit the 'Y' button, "Now then…let's be having that scroll."

**[You have acquired the '**_**Doton: Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu**_**' Scroll.]**

**Do you wish to learn it?**

**[Y/N]**

"Hell yeah!" Naruto stabbed the button with his free hand and watched as the scroll dissolved into blue light and was absorbed into his body.

**[Doton: Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu] (Active) [LV 1, 00.00 EXP]**

**The Earth Clone or Rock Clone technique is the most sturdy of the Clone Jutsu, save for the legendary Mokuton and its Moku Bunshin, requiring a solid hit in a critical location to destroy them. In addition, unlike the other elemental clones, if a Iwa Bunshin is destroyed, it breaks into pieces of rock, which can be used for other Doton Ninjutsu. Iwa Bunshin can only use non-elemental or Doton Ninjutsu and is almost as strong as the user.**

**Handsigns: Ram-Monkey-Horse-Ram**

**When activated, the user spits out a rock, which is then shaped into a clone or clones of the user. The clone(s) will follow the orders of its creator.**

**Iwa Bunshin have no mental stats and have the physical stats of the creator of them minus twenty percent.**

**Minimum Number that have to be created: 5**

**Maximum number that can be created: 10**

**Costs 75 CP/Clone**

"Awesome!" Naruto cheered, "let's try it out…up on the roof."

One of Naruto's favourite additions that this new apartment was connected to the roof via a door next to the kitchen. On the roof, there were empty flower beds that Naruto itched to plant something in, but restrained himself from doing so…for now, at least.

"Right then…" the blond muttered once he was out on the roof, "Ram…Monkey…Horse…Ram! _**Doton: Iwa Bunshin no Jutsu!**_"

Naruto spat out a large rock (feeling like he was barfing up a watermelon) which split and turned into five exact copies of himself.

"Whoa…!" Naruto gaped at the sight of duplicates of himself standing in front of him, "This is surreal…"

"Try seeing it from the other side." one Iwa Bunshin retorted, "We only have enough chakra to last an hour if we don't use any jutsu."

"Hey, I'm sorry that you're only a clone, but them's the breaks." Naruto shot back, "How the hell are you even replying to me like this? Are Iwa Bunshin supposed to do this?"

"How the hell would we know?" another Iwa Bunshin asked, "We have your physical capabilities, not your knowledge of anything but Doton jutsu…which is a single Jutsu!"

"You know we're lucky to even be able to use this jutsu at all." Naruto reminded his clones, "The Jutsu Library at the Academy doesn't have anything but E-Rank Jutsu, and none of them are elemental Jutsu. The Jutsu section of the actual library would be good, but we can't get in there without that crabby old lady throwing us out."

"This sucks." another Iwa Bunshin grumbled.

"That's life." Naruto shrugged.

**By thinking deep thoughts, your WIS has gone up by one!**

"Shut up…" Naruto growled as he closed the window.

**NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN**

_The Next Day, End of the Academy Day_

_Final Year Classroom_

"Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto." Neko said, appearing just after Iruka-sensei dismissed them for the day, "Your presences are required by the Hokage at once."

"What did you do Forehead?" Ino catcalled.

"Nothing!" Sakura retorted, "Naruto-baka what did you do?!"

"I did nothing." Naruto replied, "A member of the Haruno Clan broke the law, which is why we have been summoned. We'd better not keep Jiji waiting. Side Along _**Shunshin**_ again, Neko-san?"

"This summons does require that method, I am afraid." Neko replied.

"Side Along what now?" Sakura asked as she came down to stand in front of the ANBU, more than slightly intimidated by the Black-Ops kunoichi.

"Shunshin. As in 'Shunshin no Jutsu'." Naruto explained as he moved next to her, "You haven't eaten much today have you, Sakura-chan?"

"No…" the pinkette shook her head slowly as she replied pensively.

"Good. You might throw up otherwise." Neko said bluntly, "Hold still."

She grasped their shoulders and made the three of them vanish in a large puff of chakra smoke.

Upon reaching their destination, Sakura began to dry-retch at the unfamiliar sensation of the Shunshin. A hand rubbing soothing circles into her back made the faux-vomiting sensation fade to nothing. The pinkette looked up to see a concerned Naruto looking at her before he removed his hand from her back.

"You OK Sakura-chan?" he asked.

"Y-Yeah…that was really unpleasant though." Sakura replied, "Urgh…is that what it's like to use the Shunshin no Jutsu?"

"No, merely the after-effect of being Side Along Shunshin'd." Neko replied, "This way please."

Sakura then noticed they were in front of the Hokage Tower and hurried to follow the ANBU operative, Naruto trotting along in her wake.

"What's this all about, Naruto?" Sakura asked, dropping the 'baka' from his name in the seat of government of the Hidden Leaf Village.

"You'll find out in a few minutes, Sakura-chan." Naruto replied easily, "I will say it is something that the Haruno Clan will find…embarrassing."

Sakura frowned. Naruto was being unusually evasive today; any other day he would be falling over himself to tell her what was going on in order to impress her.

'_Now that I come to think about it, he hasn't asked me out in…how long has it been?_' Sakura thought in mild shock, '_A couple of days, at least. Has he given up on me?_'

Rather than the delight that she had thought she would feel at the prospect, she felt a pang of loss. Sakura was, contrary to her bold and brazen front, rather lacking in the self-confidence front. The frequent taunts and teasing by Ami and her clique regarding her forehead and pink hair as a child had only been made bearable by her friendship with Yamanaka Ino.

Then, both of them had started crushing on Uchiha Sasuke and they had become rivals, constantly competing with each other for Sasuke's approval and affections. A small, but persistent, part of her railed at what she had done to her relationship with her best friend.

Naruto chasing her had secretly been rather flattering for the pinkette. It had confirmed that yes, in spite of Sasuke's indifference, she was attractive and desirable. This made putting him down and smacking him when he got too persistent a little awkward for her. She had still done it, but every so often the guilt got to her and she had stoically endued his wooing of her in order to assuage it.

Caught up in her thoughts, she only realised that they were in front of the Hokage's Office when Neko knocked on the door.

"Hokage-sama, I have brought Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura, as ordered." Neko said as she entered before vanishing into thin air.

Naruto and Sakura entered the office to see not only the Hokage as expected, but also Sakura's mother, Haruno Mebuki, the Head of the Haruno Clan. Tall, regal, with short cut brown hair, and dressed in a red kimono with the white circle symbol of the Haruno on the centre of her back and over where her heart was, Mebuki was an intimidating sight.

'_What is going on here?_' Sakura thought in frustration as she opened her mouth to greet her mother and the village leader.

_With Naruto_

Naruto watched as Sakura bowed to his Jiji and greeted him respectfully before doing the same to her mother.

"Hey Jiji." Naruto added in after she was done, "Good day, Haruno-san."

"Sakura. Uzumaki-san." Mebuki replied stiffly as she beckoned her daughter over to her side. Naruto walked over to the chairs opposite them and takes a seat as Sakura's mother continues to speak, irritation clear in her voice, "Now then Hokage-sama, the children are here, so could you kindly explain why you have summoned us all? I was in the middle of the monthly audit when your ANBU messenger entered my room and delivered your message."

The Haruno Clan was a small civilian Clan that had many mercantile interests, Naruto had been told by his Jiji the previous day. Smart and savvy, they had their fingers in a lot of pies throughout Hi no Kuni. Shops, caravans, auction houses…all bearing the circle crest of the Haruno Clan and taking a hefty share of the profits. They donated generously to the village, contributing 2% of its annual income, which was phenomenal for any civilian Clan, let alone one that had less than seventy people in it.

"At approximately midnight the day before yesterday, Haruno Isuca was discovered in the middle of attempting to smash Naruto-kun's window by members of ANBU set to discover who was responsible for the serial vandalism that was being visited upon Naruto-kun's apartment and she was taken into custody." Sarutobi said firmly, making both Mebuki and Sakura freeze in disbelief as the old man continued, "Under questioning by Mitarashi Anko, she confessed to having been responsible for acts of harassment and vandalism against Naruto-kun going back five years."

"Wha…what…kinds of vandalism?" Mebuki choked pout, her face white.

"She smashed my window once, perhaps twice a week for the last five years." Naruto answered for the Hokage, "Recently she took to throwing rotting dog crap through my window as well."

"Urgh!" Sakura wrinkled her node at the thought.

"I had her questioned again this morning based on something Naruto-kun mentioned to me yesterday." Sarutobi said softly, his eyes as hard as flint, "She confessed to organising two groups of people to ransack Naruto-kun's apartment thee and four years ago respectively. Under some pressure, she admitted to also organising the gutting of Naruto-kun's apartment yesterday while he was at the Academy. She had arranged it the previous day and has given us a list of people's names, of whom all are now in custody.

So then, the charges are multiple counts of Harassment, three counts of Conspiracy to Destroy Private Property, multiple counts of Destruction of Private Property and eleven counts of Littering, although those last ones are non-incremental charges and are thus not included for any reason other than how much damage Haruno Isuca has done."

The faces of the two members of the Haruno Clan were a picture of a mixture of different emotions. Sakura was shocked, horrified and dismayed by what her cousin had perpetrated, while Mebuki's face was seemingly blank and unemotional. It would have fooled anyone were it not for the fact that her emerald green eyes were sparking with panic, fear and anger.

She knew of Naruto's burden and had cautioned Sakura to be careful around him. Mebuki had known the Yondaime Hokage and trusted his skill with the little-known art of Fūinjutsu completely, so she knew that Naruto was not the Kyūbi no Kitsune. Still, being careful around him wasn't a bad precaution.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had made it known twelve years ago that he would come down like a ton of bricks on anyone found to have harassed or attacked Naruto in way that wasn't a Taijutsu spar or playground antics, so proven when half-a-dozen civilians got thrown in jail for throwing stones at him when he had been four.

Now one of _her Clan _had been proven to have orchestrated a campaign of intimidation and harassment against the boy all of Konoha knew he considered to be his _surrogate grandson _and Haruno Mebuki was dreading the consequences of that foolish girl Isuca's actions!

"Naruto-kun never told me about the constant harassment because he didn't want to cause me trouble." Sarutobi said, casting an amused yet stern look at his favourite orphan, "I have since talked to him about that and he assures me that any future incidents will be reported promptly from hereon out. The question now…is what to do about Isuca and the backlash of this incident on the Haruno Clan."

This was what Mebuki was dreading. The Shinobi Clans of Konoha may put on an indifferent façade to the world regarding one Uzumaki Naruto, but they made their displeasure known at any mistreatment he suffered.

When he had been thrown out of the Orphanage at the age of five, an unknown buyer had bought the Orphanage from Konoha and had fired all of the staff, replacing them with ex-Shinobi who were strict, but firm with kids. Everybody knew it had been a Shinobi Clan that was responsible, but no one knew which one.

The Haruno Clan depended on hiring Konohagakure Shinobi to guard their caravans and supply shipments. If the Clans heard about Isuca's foolishness, the Haruno might never be able to hire Shinobi as guards again, which would force them to hire mercenaries, who were unreliable and far more expensive per man than a Shinobi.

"What…what is your judgement, Hokage-sama." she asked shakily.

"Naruto-kun, what do you think?" Sarutobi asked his surrogate grandson, who looked thoughtful.

"It depends on the answer to a couple of questions, I think." Naruto replied before turning to the Haruno Clan Head. "Did you know about what Isuca-san was doing to me, Haruno-san?"

"No." Mebuki replied tightly, "Had I been aware, I would have put a stop to it and disciplined Isuca firmly."

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he turned to his pink-haired crush.

"I had no idea." she told him honestly, "I would have told Okaa-san if I knew."

"Fair enough." Naruto nodded, before looking at the Hokage, "Hokage-sama, I don't think letting Isuca-san's crimes known would be a good idea. The Haruno Clan had nothing to do with Isuca-san's actions."

"Very well, Naruto-kun." Sarutobi nodded, making the two Haruno sag with relief, "However, they should have been more aware of their relative's actions, so they must be penalised for that."

"Isuca-san is a failed genin candidate and the Haruno don't exactly have a Clan Compound." Naruto pointed out, "For all we know she lives by herself."

"Except she doesn't, Naruto-kun." Sarutobi replied, "She lives next-door to Mebuki and Sakura's home. The Haruno have their own guards patrolling the area, who should have reported any odd movements by a Clansmen to Mebuki."

"So long as the Shinobi Clans know not to repudiate the Haruno Clan from their lists of clients, I agree to a punishment." Mebuki said stoically, praying that it would not cripple her Clan.

"Naruto-kun? Would you care to declare the punishment for the Haruno Clan?" Sarutobi offered, "Isuca's punishment has already been decided upon; she will be fined ten-thousand Ryo, payable to Naruto-kun in instalments, as well as being banned from leaving the village for any reason for the next year, nor may she enter into any contracts on her own name for an equal length of time. She will also be required to check in with her Clan leader once a day to give in an itinerary of where she plans on going in the village, why and how long she will take to go there and return."

Mebuki winced at that. A financial penalty, house arrest inside the village, reduced to the level of an indentured servant, as well as being forced to outline her day's destinations, reasons for travelling and duration to Mebuki every single day for the next year? Harsh, but more lenient that she had been expecting.

"Well…" Naruto frowned in thought, "Sakura-chan's the smartest person in class. Even Sasuke-teme has to admit that. How about she helps me with the theory work until graduation without pay for…two hours a day after class? In addition to being forbidden to diet?"

"I need to diet otherwise I'll get fat!" Sakura protested.

"No, you don't." Neko informed her as the ANBU stepped out of the shadows, making the civilians jump in shock, "My apologies, but I cannot keep quiet at this juncture. No one who walks the path of the Shinobi needs to diet. The regular training and exercises that shinobi undertake see to that. Eat a _balanced_ diet, yes, but do not cut down on the amount of food you eat. It prevents your body from growing properly and makes you useless in training. Uzumaki-san could easily beat you in a Taijutsu spar just by outlasting you."

"But…" Sakura looked on the edge of protesting again until Naruto interrupted her.

"Care for me to prove it, Sakura-chan?" he asked calmly, leaving the girl speechless.

"I don't think that is necessary, Naruto-kun." Sarutobi interjected, "I will say to you, Sakura-chan, that Neko is absolutely correct. Dieting is unnecessary for any Shinobi. Now, will you accept Naruto-kun's punishment of your daughter serving as his private tutor for the next…seven months in lieu of any fines or other punishments?"

Mebuki had known that the blond Jinchūriki had a crush on her daughter and wasn't really surprised he had manipulated things so he could spend time with her. What had puzzled her was why he was insisting on her not dieting. When the ANBU Neko had decreed that Shinobi didn't need to diet and been backed up by the Hokage himself, she had figure it out.

He was worried. Worried that Sakura's dieting could cripple her career as a Kunoichi, cut it short on a mission, and wanted to do something to stop it from getting that far. He simply wanted to help the girl he had a crush on to survive in the world she chose to enter.

"I agree with the punishment and accept on behalf of my daughter." Mebuki inclined her head slightly, "Would tomorrow be acceptable to begin her tutoring sessions?"

"More than acceptable, Haruno-san." Naruto replied with a small bow.

"OKAA-SAN?!" Sakura yelped.

"Enough, Sakura." Mebuki ordered, "This is an exceptionally generous offer which prevents the Haruno Clan from being disgraced by the actions of a single rogue member. I will explain everything to you once we return home, but keep your peace for the moment."

Sakura quietened down and frowned. Feeling Naruto's gaze on her, she looked into his clear blue eyes. They were unapologetic at what he had just wrought and had a pleading quality to them, begging her to accept that what had been done was for her own good.

'Jeez…he really is too much.' she thought with a mental sigh. Smiling crookedly at him, she nodded slightly in acquiescence and was treated to the sight of him perking up slightly at the sign that she didn't hate him..

Sarutobi, Neko and Mebuki noticed this small byplay and swiftly concealed any grins that arose because of it, not that Neko actually needed to, what with the mask and all…

Once the two Haruno women leave, Sarutobi nods at Naruto approvingly and says, "Very well done, my boy."

"It helped that Nezumi-san was holding idiot boards above their heads so I could read them." Naruto replied dryly. A bashful Nezumi appeared with a stack of cardboard rectangles tucked under his arm and muttered, "They're called placards."

"Still, you did well to read them without alerting Sakura and Mebuki to the fact they were there." Sarutobi smirked as he added, "Even although Nezumi almost dropped one on Sakura-chan's head."

Naruto stayed to chat with his surrogate grandfather for a few minutes before heading off, the windows that only he could see floating around him. Double-timing it back to his apartment, Naruto whizzed up the stairs and into his rooms so he could get through the notices from his Gamer ability quickly and without people wondering why he was making odd waving notions in midair.

Sitting down at his kitchen table, he turned his attention to the first one as he waited for his cup ramen to cook…damn these three-minute waiting times!

**Your kindness bears fruit! +50 Reputation with Haruno Sakura!**

If this was the first one…oh! The back-rub? Who knew that back rubs were a way to make girls like you more? Go figure.

**Your mercy becomes you! +500 Reputation with Haruno Mebuki!**

"Mercy? Oh, not giving them a harsh punishment." Naruto realised, "Right. What's next…?"

**You have received Haruno Sakura as a Private Tutor! +100 Relationship with Haruno Sakura per every five sessions with her and +1 INT and WIS for every two sessions you use to hit the books and listen to her teach you!**

"Hell yeah!" Naruto fist-pumped at that.

**[Congratulations!]**

'**Tending the Cherry Blossom' Quest Complete!**

**You have started to turn Sakura from the wrong path and have even started to get closer to her! Nicely done!**

**Quest Completion Reward: +750 Reputation with Haruno Sakura, + 1000 Exp, +2000 Ryo.**

"Alright! This means I only need 700 more Reputation with her to get to a 'Neutral' Relationship with her!" Naruto cheered, This rocks!"

**[Quest Alert!]**

**Long Term Quest: A Cherry Blossom in Full Bloom**

**You are at the start of a proper relationship with Haruno Sakura. Slowly build it up with her and you will meet your goal.**

**Quest Objective: Successfully Woo, Romance and Seduce Haruno Sakura, eventually making her your Girlfriend.**

**Quest Completion Reward: Sakura as your Girlfriend.**

**Quest Failure: 'Friend-Zoned'.**

**Accept?**

**[Y/N]**

"Again, like I'd say no." Naruto hit the 'Y' Button just before his egg timer rang, signalling that his Cup Ramen was ready, "Itadakimasu!"

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**Next Chapter: Field Dungeon**

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